Ottawa, Ontario — Advocates for Ontario’s towing industry are voicing their support for the provincial government’s plans to introduce a tow operator licensing framework, in the hopes of securing a more fair and ethical way forward for those employed in the industry.
The Provincial Towing Association of Ontario (PTAO) says that it fully endorses the government’s March 2021 pledge to crack down on the violence and corruption that is prevalent in the Greater Toronto Area’s towing industry.
At the time, it was announced that the region would be split into various zones where only specific towing companies would be permitted to operate.
Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said that this first step will “eliminate the practice of accident chasing within the tow zones, which has been a dangerous trend in the industry.”
The next steps include establishing a method of licensing and accounting for tow operators and their individual degrees of education and safety training.
The PTAO says that this puts it in step with the government on this goal.
“The provincial government’s decision to introduce provincial licensing is very timely, as the PTAO has been designing and developing their own accreditation program for towers to recognize the education and standards needed in the towing industry,” said PTAO president Mark Graves, in a press release.
Graves says that his organization has been working alongside the Ontario government for the past five years and that “It is very rewarding to see the Provincial Government moving forward on many of the recommendations made by the PTAO.”
Since 2020, the PTAO has been at the helm of the Towing Task Force, which interviewed industry stakeholders and produced a whitepaper upon which many of the organization’s recommendations to the government are based.
As it stands, the Ontario government has not laid out any additional details on the state of tow operator licensing in the province.
