Saving Money For the People of Dufferin-Caledon By Ending Drive Clean

A reoccurring frustration for me has been when governments do not assess and review programs to ensure they still provide value to the citizens we serve.

There are few better examples of this than Ontario’s Drive Clean program.

It no longer does the job it was intended to do.

Drive Clean tests have become unnecessary because of significant improvements in industry standards for cars over the last 20 years. Drive Clean has cost a small fortune for drivers across our riding. And that is why our Government is cancelling Drive Clean effective April 1, 2019 – just as we promised we would.

During the election, we promised to keep more money in the pockets of drivers in Dufferin-Caledon. And that’s exactly what eliminating Drive Clean will do. In fact, our government’s actions will save taxpayers $40 million per year.

This move also cuts red tape for the auto sector and saves time for drivers when renewing their license plate sticker. This will be a real relief to Dufferin-Caledon’s job creating auto dealers.

As industry standards have improved, we’ve seen a significant reduction in the number of cars that don’t meet emission standards. While 16% of cars failed the emissions test in 1999, only 5% of cars failed in 2017. This improvement has made the Drive Clean test unnecessary.

The Ontario Government is focused on reducing red tape and unnecessary regulations in our Province. We want to keep more money in the pockets of our citizens and allow them the opportunity to spend money on necessities. Drive Clean is an unnecessary cost for Ontarians and it hurts the least fortunate in Ontario. We are focused on targeting the highest polluters in Ontario in order to reduce emissions by significant amounts compared to other Canadian provinces. We are focused on improving our air quality and reducing Climate Change across Ontario through targeting the highest polluters across our Province.

If you have any questions about how our government is making life more affordable for the people of Dufferin-Caledon, please contact my office at 1-800-265-1603 or by email at sylvia.jonesco@pc.ola.org.

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