Canada Extends ELD Education Period to January 1, 2023

In March 2022, Canada's provinces and territories agreed to keep enforcing the federal electronic logging device (ELD) mandate through education rather than penalties for several more months. The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) announced on March 7, 2022 that the education and awareness period, which had been due to end on June 12, 2022, would continue through January 1, 2023.

The federal ELD mandate for federally regulated carriers had come into force on June 12, 2021. In a May 2021 message, CCMTA had said jurisdictions planned a period of progressive enforcement without penalties, with extra education and awareness, until June 12, 2022. Provinces and territories are responsible for enforcing the federal Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations.

What CCMTA said

In its message for industry, CCMTA said jurisdictions remained committed to the mandate. It said mandatory ELD use would help ensure that federally regulated carriers operating in Canada, including those crossing the border into Canada, stayed within their hours of service.

The council pointed to the pressure the transportation sector had faced over the previous two years. It said considerable progress had been made on the regulations and infrastructure needed for enforcement, including a notable increase in the number of certified ELDs on the market.

Even so, jurisdictions had concluded that more time was needed so that industry could buy and install certified devices and train for compliance. On that basis, they would continue to support the mandate through education and awareness until January 1, 2023.

CCMTA advised carriers to research their device options and make sure any ELD they bought was certified and approved by Transport Canada. It also reminded industry to check provincial and territorial requirements, and listed contacts for each province and territory and for Transport Canada.

Ontario follows suit

Ontario's Ministry of Transportation set out how it would apply the extension in a letter to Ontario carriers from its Commercial Safety and Compliance Branch dated March 16 (the letter's header gives the year as 2021, but its content refers to the March 7, 2022 CCMTA decision).

Ontario had also adopted its own provincial ELD rules, which closely matched the federal mandate and were set to take effect for commercial truck carriers on June 12, 2022. Bus carriers operating only in Ontario would need a certified ELD from July 1, 2023.

The ministry said Ontario would:

• support the federal mandate with an education and awareness period, without penalties for federally regulated carriers, through January 1, 2023; and
• give provincially regulated carriers a matching education and awareness period for the provincial mandate through January 1, 2023.

It said aligning the two would keep a level playing field for all carriers, wherever they operated.

What carriers were told to expect

The Ontario letter stressed that the measures were temporary. Requirements would be enforced once the education and awareness period ended: January 1, 2023 for commercial truck carriers, and July 1, 2023 for bus carriers operating only in Ontario.

Carriers were advised to keep preparing and adopting certified ELDs as they became available. While no penalties would be issued, carriers could expect ELD education during contacts with commercial vehicle enforcement. Carriers travelling outside Ontario were reminded to check the rules in each province or territory where they would operate.

Archive: this article describes rules and events as of March 2022. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.