Advocates celebrate new towing industry rules in Ontario but warn it comes with uncertainty

A new law rolling out in the new year aims to quell an industry rocked by turf wars, shootings and arson by shifting oversight to the province instead of municipalities.

Starting Monday, tow truck operators, drivers and vehicle storage operators will need a provincial licence and criminal background check to operate. Currently, operators have to register with individual cities — and not all of them have rules regulating the profession.

Teresa Di Felice, a spokesperson for Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), says the new rules will ensure a higher working standard, protect consumers stranded on roads and start to address the turf wars that have put the industry in the spotlight over the years.

"This level of oversight will create more standardization, will create standards in consumer protection and how the industry treats each other," said Di Felice.

"If they don't play by the rules, they will have that opportunity to to do business in Ontario taken away from them."

The change, which includes a new training regime, a complaints portal and protections around pricing according to Di Felice, is something many in the industry have been advocating for for years. It's also something the Ford government started back in 2021 in a bid to address violence and fraud after multiple police investigations exposed turf wars in the towing industry

While hopeful, some are concerned that the details of the new regulations are hazy and will lead to a confusing rollout for operators. Mark Graves, president of the Professional Towing Assocation of Ontario, said they don't go so far as to remove the practice of first-to-the-scene, which incentivizes operators to rush to a crash, and aren't yet clear on what the new payment structures will be.

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"We don't have any idea," said Graves. "We really need to have more consultations and get a clear understanding."

"There's a lot of things coming down the pipes real fast and there's a huge amount of uncertainty and speculation in the towing industry of how we move forward from this."

Operators, consumers to see changes unfold

Gary Vandenheurvel, the owner of Preferred Towing in Sarnia, Ont., says he welcomes the new licensing and criminal background check requirements. But he's particularly unsure about how the new rate structures will affect his business, and situations where police order a car to be taken away, instead of the owner of the vehicle.

"We need to now go back and take a look at this structure and say, well, how are we going to be paid and compensated fairly for everything we do on every job?" said Vandenheurvel.

He hopes there's still opportunity to get to the table with government if need be.

"We are the boots on the ground. We are the people that do the work. So they really need to listen to what we say."

Starting Jan. 1., Di Felice said unless police say otherwise, drivers stuck on the side of roads get to choose their operator. She advises commuters to ask for digital or physical copy of the operator's certificate before signing the consent form accepting their service, which must take the most direct route to get your car where it needs to go.

"They can't charge you more than the maximum rate and they should provide you with a rate schedule and give you a proper invoice and ... confirmed payment of receipt," said Di Felice.

"There are a number of provisions that are available to consumers and we'll be rolling those out over the coming days."