Toronto, Ontario —New towing legislation in Ontario will require all tow and storage operators be certified by the province and possess identification cards to prove such, among other changes enacted Jan. 1 by the Ont. government.
Under the new legislation, tow and storage operators must be certified by the province and have an identification card as proof. Consumers will also have access to a portal where they can submit complaints or concerns about tow and storage operators who are in violation of the new regulations.
The legislation will also apply consistent rules to all tow and storage operators in Ontario. Previously, only some municipalities in the province regulated towing and storage through local by-laws, all of which were different and provided varying levels of consumer protection.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has implemented these changes in an effort to control towing rates and regional territory disputes. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and the provincial government began work on the new legislation in 2023 with the intention of providing protection for consumers against towing and storage fraud, according to a recent announcement made by the IBC.
According to the IBC, “these new regulations are an important step toward reducing fraud in the insurance system and making auto insurance more affordable for everyone.”
Many tow and storage operators have readily embraced the changes. Mike and Rosemary Dean of Advanced Towing near Tillsonburg, Ont., originally told CTV News that they welcome the change because they feel it will help address price gaps in the industry. However, the pair also reported that tow and storage operators need to be given time to abide by the new regulations and feel that the complexity of each towing job will need to be represented in the new regulations as well as the associated pricing.
