Hundreds of tow truck drivers are heading to Queen’s Park today to protest a new bill they say will negatively impact their customers.
The province asserts that Bill 15 will benefit Ontarians by reducing auto insurance rates, giving customers the option to pay tow truck drivers by credit card and requiring tow truck operators to provide an itemized list of charges. The province hopes these regulations will help prevent inflated tow costs and unfair practices on the part of unscrupulous tow truck drivers.
But members of the tow truck industry say the legislation will only drive up the costs for their services and make it more difficult for operators to do their job.
Aris Marinos, a tow truck driver who spoke at the protest, said the industry's chief concern is becoming a part of the Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration program.
"This limits the hours of service an operator can work. This in turn can cause longer response times and affect gridlock that everyone is trying to eliminate," Marinos said.
He said the bill also puts public safety at risk as longer response times could result in secondary accidents.
“We do agree that there are some bad operators in the industry and Ontario-wide regulations are needed but this bill does not achieve this," he said.
"We would just like to be heard and taken seriously."
The office of Consumer Services Minister Tracy MacCharles has told CP24 that the minister is open to discussing the concerns tow truck operators have around the hours of work.
