Further Thoughts on the TSSEA

Furthermore, anyone in the industry who thinks this type of legislation will stay limited to Ontario need only look south of the border. There are at least a dozen states that have already enacted (or are currently working on) legislation to quell “predatory towing.”

In Canada, on the east coast, Cape Breton recently attempted to follow Ontario’s lead and introduce very restrictive and penalizing legislation. This was only narrowly avoided due to the efforts of towers in the area. I am sure Cape Breton will try again, as this is not Nova Scotia’s first attempt at legislating the towing industry. The number one fault in all these legislative acts, including Ontario’s, is that the input from honest towers is either minimized or ignored entirely.

The TSSEA’s most recent addition to the legislation is mandatory driver training (effective July 1, 2024). This mandatory driver training requirement has been part of the legislation from day one. However, much like most of the legislation’s other requirements, it has been a huge unknown.

In August of 2023, a copy of the MTO’s Tow Truck Driver Training Standard manual (61 pages of governmental expertise) was leaked. I say leaked because when questioned at the Ontario Tow Show, the MTO representatives in attendance knew nothing about the manual or content. In conversations I had with training agencies at the time, it was indicated that there was substantial doubt the content of the manual was viable from a business standpoint.

Since August of last year there have been no updates. The Tow Truck Driver Training Standard was never officially released to the industry. As of July 1, 2024, the industry is required to have all new drivers complete this curriculum in order to obtain a tow driver’s certificate. It does not matter if the driver has ten minutes or ten years’ experience—if they did not acquire their tow driver certificate prior to July 1, 2024, they must complete the training before operating a tow truck, NO EXCEPTIONS! Further to that, as near as I have been able to determine, every tow operator in Ontario must complete the training program before their next certificate renewal (three years).

Let me say this right off the hop: I am not against training. In fact, my company has hosted numerous WreckMaster training courses. We train alongside multiple fire departments for auto extraction, and I have hazmat and Traffic Incident Management (TIM) training. Good training saves money and lives. However, I fail to see how a touchy-feely course will improve my safety or my years and subject to a $195 fee. Drivers can apply online for certification and find a list of authorized training providers once available” (emphasis added).

That is correct. As of June 25, 2024, the MTO still had not announced a certified training course for a requirement that was to come into effect five days later!

Once again, as every major TSSEA announcement from the government has been made, on the eve of a long weekend, the MTO announced that WreckMaster had met the requirements to become a certified training facility.

Now, please don’t get me wrong. I hold WreckMaster with the utmost respect. I am a Level 6/7 WM myself, and as I have already stated, my company has hosted many WreckMaster courses. In fact, if WreckMaster had not stepped up to the plate, where would we be? There would be no one able to train us to meet the MTO’s requirements. I just don’t understand the logistics of training every tow operator in Ontario before their driver’s certificate expires in three years.

I have had multiple people contact me with their concerns about this, and everyone who reached out to the MTO has received the same basic reply:

• We don’t care what training you currently have.
• We don’t care what training protocols your company currently uses.
• We don’t care what this costs you.
• We don’t care about the viability of training a new hire only to have them quit or not be hired after the probationary period.
• We don’t care that the insurance industry may not insure this individual after the probationary period.
• We don’t care that if you don’t complete OUR training, you are out of a job.

Basically, their answer has been, “We don’t care.”

The amount of stress this legislation has caused tow operators and tow owners is incredible. Tow operators and owners have been forced out of the industry due to decades old indiscretions, penalties that have long since been paid, and there is no expeditious recourse. They are now facing a career change not of their choice. TSSEA management does not seem to understand that real life does not function at the snail’s pace of government. An operator who is not working is not getting paid, unlike their counterparts on the public payroll.

To tell someone to simply “go through the process” to expunge or receive a pardon is of little comfort when the pay cheque isn’t coming in.

Over the last few months, I have heard many owners and operators express more and more frustration about the dwindling viability of the industry under this legislation. Many of us are at the tail end of our careers, and with these new requirements, I foresee fewer people entering the industry than exiting, and we are already short of qualified operators.

“There simply must be a mechanism for the multitude of excellent well-trained towers in Ontario to maintain their certificates without going back to tow-training kindergarten.”

As stated in previous articles, the hurdles that the TSSEA has put in front of the towing industry would be somewhat more palatable if there were some benefits for the industry. Where is our protection for operator safety on the roadside? Where is our protection against vexatious insurance companies and frivolous lawsuits? Where is our protection against price gouging by the insurance industry? Where is our protection against abandoned vehicles towed under police direction?

The Towing & Storage Safety & Enforcement Act is forcing the industry not to step up but to leap up to meet the requirements. I would like to put it to the government like this: if we (the industry) are required to step up, why are you not doing the same? Why are you not supporting such a critically important industry? Simply telling towers that you (the government) will work on issues as they arise does not lessen the pain of a tower trying to comply with rules that they don’t understand, and in many cases do not even apply.

Towers, by nature, are problem solvers. We arrive on scene and must quickly come up with a plan and execute that plan. We don’t complete surveys, study the materials, convene task forces, convene new task forces, then convene another task force to review the previous two task force findings!

Towers get sh*t done!

Towers cannot function with the idea that we will go forward blindly waiting for the next long weekend announcement to see what the next step might be.

My hat goes off to all those in the tow industry who have taken the time to meet with the government to try to get these issues rectified. Please keep up the fight. The time has long passed to put aside any grievances with others in the industry and form a unified message that puts the towing industry’s needs at the forefront. The time has never been more urgent to support the towing associations of your province. Make no mistake, every province is watching to see what happens in Ontario and will follow suit sooner than later. 🍁