Ontario to scrap Drive Clean emissions test, target heavy duty vehicles instead
Doug Ford announces the provincial government is scrapping the Drive Clean vehicle emissions testing program. (680 NEWS/Momin Qureshi)
The Ontario government says it is scrapping the Drive Clean vehicle emissions testing program and replacing it with a new system that will focus on heavy duty vehicles such as transport trucks.
The Progressive Conservative government says the Drive Clean program, which tests emissions every two years on cars and light-duty trucks over seven years old, is outdated and no longer effective.
The province says the program worked well when it was introduced in 1999 and but grew less useful as the automotive industry adopted more stringent emissions standards.
As a result, the government says, only five per cent of vehicles failed the test last year.
The Tories say a new program will be introduced to target emissions from heavy duty vehicles, which they say have weaker emissions standards and get replaced less frequently.
They say the proposed changes will be subject to a 30-day public consultation.
Source: The Canadian Press via 680 News, 28 Sep 2018.
