Last week, the Ontario government announced welcome news for cottagers and commuters: a ban on new tolls being introduced on provincial highways.
The ban is part of a proposed piece of legislation called the Get It Done Act. If passed, the ban on highway tolls will apply to all provincially owned highways, including the 400-series, as well as the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway, which were transferred from Toronto to the Ontario government as part of a funding agreement announced in November of last year.
“First, we scrapped the tolls on Highways 412 and 418, now we’re protecting drivers from the costs of new tolls,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, minister of transportation, in a statement.
The ban will only prevent new tolls from being introduced and will not repeal tolls already in place, such as the one on Highway 407. In 2022, 407 ETR, the private company responsible for operating Highway 407, reported a net income of $435.3 million.
By removing tolls on Highways 412 and 418, which happened in April 2022, the Ontario government estimates that motorists in the province will save a total of $68 million between 2022 and 2027.
“Preventing future governments from arbitrarily placing tolls on the supply chain without due diligence and consultation is a measure welcomed by the Ontario Trucking Association,” said Stephen Laskowski, president of the Ontario Trucking Association in a statement.
Additional changes announced as part of the proposed Get It Done Act, include a permanent freeze on driver’s licence and Ontario photo card fees. The Ontario government announced a temporary freeze on these fees in January 2019, which has reportedly saved applicants a total of $22 million. If passed, fee increases could only be made through legislation. The Ontario government estimates that if made permanent, the freeze on photo card fees could save applicants a total of $66 million over the next five years.
The province is also looking into automating licence plate renewals. In 2022, the Ontario government eliminated the $120 fee to renew a licence plate, but vehicle owners are still required to go through the process online or in person at Service Ontario at no cost. Automating renewals would eliminate this process, but it would only be available to drivers in good standing without outstanding tickets or fines.
Sarkaria said they’re looking to have the automated renewal process in place by this summer.
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