Licence plate sticker fees dropped for drivers in Ontario, Ford says

Aug 09, 2023

'This means over seven and a half million vehicle owners can expect a refund'

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TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Tuesday that there will no longer be yearly fees to renew licence plate stickers.

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"We are eliminating licence plate renewal fees and scrapping the requirement to have licence plate sticker for passenger vehicles, light duty trucks, motorcycles and mopeds," Ford said in Richmond Hill.

While the licence plate stickers will still have to be renewed, it will be without the current price tag of $120 for drivers in southern Ontario and $60 in Northern Ontario. All licence plate sticker fees since March 2020 will be refunded, said Ford. This is set to come into effect on March 13.

"This means over seven and a half million vehicle owners can expect a refund," he said. "Any outstanding tickets or fines will have to be covered before you receive your refund."

Drivers will have to confirm their address on their licence is up-to-date on the ServiceOntario website before receiving a refund. They can also call the dedicated ServiceOntario phone number at 888-333-0049.

Premier Ford, Minister @C_Mulroney, Minister @RossRomanoSSM, and Associate Minister @ninatangri make an announcement https://t.co/auV7Gom9E9

Drivers should "make sure they have everything in order before March 7," said Ford, adding that refund checks will be sent out by the end of April.

"We believe hardworking Ontarians know the value of the dollar," Ford said before the announcement. "The best place for your money is in your pocket, not the government's."

This move will cost the province $1.1 billion a year in lost revenue. Ford said it's one billion dollars that is going back into the economy, and will still benefit the province because people will have more money to spend.

"Put more money into your pockets, more money into businesses, that's going to create a broader tax base, more people are employed," he said.

The premier said he doesn't want to raise taxes, but Treasury Board President Prabmeet Sarkaria also said there will be no cuts to services to make up for the loss of revenue.

"I think like any other program that the government puts forward, we’ll examine all fiscal implications of the program, as we have been internally," Sarkaria said after question period.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she was not opposed to the elimination of the renewal fees, and Liberal House Leader John Fraser said waiving the fees isn't enough to address affordability.

Green party leader Mike Schreiner said the announcement is just an election gimmick — the province heads to the polls in June — and the other opposition leaders are "playing footsie" with it.

"That is a billion-dollar election boondoggle that means less money for health care, less money for education, less money for affordable housing," he said.

The premier sounded less certain, however, about another affordability promise, saying he will "look into" cutting gas prices.

Ford promised during the 2018 election to cut gas prices by 10 cents, with 4.3 cents coming from ending the previous Liberal government's cap-and-trade system.

The Progressive Conservatives did end cap and trade, but that meant the federal carbon tax backstop kicked in, negating savings at the pump. Ford's government tried fighting it in court, but lost.

The provincial fuel tax rate remains unchanged from 2018, but Ford said as recently as November that he would fulfil the rest of the promise.

"We’re going to commit to making sure that we cut 5.7 cents off before the next budget," he had said.

With reporting by The Canadian Press.

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