The Commercial Vehicle Licensing program will be ending December 31, 2019. UBCM has administered this program since 1987. Following a program review with member input, UBCM determined that the program had ceased fulfilling the original intent of the program and distributed funds disproportionately among local governments.
The program was established in 1906 to provide a source of revenue for participating municipalities to offset the expenses related to the use of local roads and highways as a result of commercial vehicle traffic on municipal roads. As this program is contained in the Local Government Act, legislative amendments will be required to terminate the program.
A UBCM review of the program determined that the original intent of the program was not being met. The review included areas such as the distribution of licensing revenue, licensing requirements, legislation, regulations, and interviews with members. Member feedback identified that:
- the revenue generated was insufficient to meet program intent when disbursed among the participants;
- the program required significant resources to administer and was not enforced in many jurisdictions; and
- the program design distributed funds in disproportion to the actual commercial vehicle licensing that is occurring in communities.
For these reasons UBCM has come to the decision to end our administration of this program effective December 31, 2019. UBCM has advised the Province of this decision, and received communication that the legislation will be updated in the Local Government Act to reflect this change and that there are no plans to replace the current program.
For questions about the conclusion of the program, please contact UBCM’s Chief Financial Officer, Kathleen Spalek. Questions can also be directed to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s Governance and Structure Branch.