Dear Editor:
I’ve noticed a lot of expired licence plate stickers in recent years, some dating back to 2018. It appears that the most expired licence plate stickers have been found in the last two years.
COVID-19 is widely blamed because Service Ontario offices were closed as an excuse for not having an updated licence plate sticker. Service Ontario has an online portal; it is unclear how to make an excuse for not having the current licence plate sticker. After the licence fee is paid, the licence plate sticker is mailed.
This removal of the licence sticker fee does not strike me as a vote-buying tactic; instead, it strikes me as common sense. The general public has already demonstrated an unwillingness to follow the law and buy the licence plate sticker. Why keep a paid program that isn’t working when the government has already lost billions of dollars in unpaid licence sticker fees? I don’t doubt that’s why Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec stopped charging for licence plate stickers in 1992; it was a loss of revenue.
The Ontario government can now figure out how many vehicles are driving around with expired licence plates. Unfortunately, the general public chooses not to be aware that the licence plate sticker is the current licence plate for that year. Any vehicle without a current licence plate sticker is unfit and unroadworthy, which means obtaining a licence sticker now necessitates a vehicle safety inspection and proof of insurance.
Let us hope that all those who chose not to purchase licence plate stickers over the past two years or more will be forced to go through this process to keep their vehicles roadworthy. If an insurance company discovers that a vehicle lacks a current licence plate sticker, they have the legal right to cancel or void the owner’s insurance.
For example, assume a vehicle has broken taillights, side windows, and so on, which are now covered with some material instead of doing a proper repair. In that case, the insurance will be void because vehicles must be roadworthy and fit to be on the road to obtain insurance.
Regardless of who is elected, I have never seen the Ontario government lose revenue. The money saved by eliminating a payment in one program will be repaid in another. I noticed that the Ontario driver’s licence fee is now $90. No doubt, the Ontario driver’s licence will soon be increased to $120 after the elimination of the license plate fee as there are undoubtedly more licenced drivers in the province than vehicle owners.
Tasha Heart,
Elora