Bob Cousins is a worried man. He’s got a brand-new truck sitting in his yard outside Ottawa for the past couple of weeks, awaiting plates to begin working.
He’s making $3,200 a month in truck payments on an idle vehicle. If the truck was in service, he’d have been earning a profit of about $100 a day. “It quickly adds up,” he said.
Ontario has made changes to the administration of the international registration plan (IRP) leading to backlogs and delays. The IRP is a registration reciprocity agreement among 10 Canadian provinces, the 48 contiguous U.S. states, and the District of Columbia. It allows vehicles to travel between participating provinces and states with one licence plate and registration document.
As of March 3, Service Ontario began delivering IRP services on behalf on the Ministry of Transportation (MTO).
Earlier, Cousins, the CEO and owner of The C & C Group of Companies, had four trucks waiting for a week-and-half to get plates.
Before the transition, applications to register new trucks or renew existing ones were handled by a local IRP office, in about three to five business days, Cousins said.
Modernizing services
“This initiative is part of our government’s work to modernize services and make it easier for carriers to meet their vehicle registration needs in one convenient visit,” Matthew D’Amico, press secretary and issues manager from the office of Stephen Crawford, minister of public and business service delivery and procurement told TruckNews.com.
“We are offering a registration extension. Plates expiring between March 31 and May 31, will remain valid through June 30. Service Ontario is prioritizing urgent requests from carriers,” he added.
OTA working to resolve issue
The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is working with both the MTO and Service Ontario to resolve the issue quickly.
Geoff Wood, OTA’s senior vice-president, policy, said that the IRP issue is hurting the industry. “We are focusing on eliminating the backlog and getting trucks and drivers moving,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cousins is still awaiting an answer. He’s got a driver waiting and work lined up. “They [Service Ontario] don’t answer the phone. It’s all by email, and they are bouncing back. It’s a living nightmare for the trucking industry,” he said.
He’s got renewals on 142 trucks coming up in October. Last year, he had all his stickers in a week. Thinking about it this year, he said, “I’m petrified!”
