Ontario Drive Clean Test Fee Increase Not Enough: AARO

Ontario’s Environment and Energy Minister Chris Stockwell has announced that effective October 1, 2002, the fee for an initial vehicle emissions inspection is being increased by $5.00 to a maximum of $35.00. Facility operators will get to keep $3.33 of the extra five bucks. Retest fees will also rise, going up $2.50 to a maximum of $17.50. All of the retest increase will stay with the facility operator.

AARO board member and Advocacy Committee chair Gino Paccione, quoted on www.aaro.com, says he’s well aware the test fee increases fall short of what facility operators were hoping for.

“That goes without saying, and we tried for more. When we met with the former minister (Elizabeth Witmer) last year, I recall telling her that the test fee should be at least ten dollars higher. But quite frankly, back then we had some bigger fish to fry,” said Paccione. “Convincing the government to ignore the CAA’s demands that more vehicles be exempted from mandatory testing was one objective, getting the $200 cap on repair costs raised, another. Those were the foremost concerns we had then,” he explained.

Advocacy Committee member Don McLaughlin agrees: “A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes. Nullifying the CAA rhetoric, and achieving a $450 repair cap did far more to assist facility operators than getting the inspection fees raised. Now they’ve done that for us, too… bonus!” he exclaimed. “And while it may be less than we all wanted, these increases can only help. I, for one, am not complaining,” he added.