‘We’re getting rid of that’: Ontario eliminating manual licence plate renewals

globalnews.ca:

The Ford government is set to introduce automatic renewals for licence plates in Ontario as police report a surge in the number of drivers with expired credentials.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement in the middle of a press conference on Tuesday, trailing a policy that was initially set to be announced later in the week.

“I’m here to announce today, actually, that we’re getting rid of that totally — registering your vehicle,” Ford said.

The premier said abolishing renewal fees in 2022 was the start of that process.

“We did the first step: getting rid of the sticker,” Ford said.

“Now, we’re getting rid of the re-registration. They’ll be automatically re-registered. So people won’t have to worry about that at all.”

The new system of automatic licence plate renewal will only apply to drivers whose records are in “good standing,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation told Global News.

That means drivers with insurance issues, unpaid tolls or municipal fines will not see their plates automatically renewed.

Under the current system, part of renewing your licence plate includes settling outstanding issues associated with the vehicle.

The spokesperson said further details on the policy will be unveiled later in the week. Those details will include how the province plans to deal with people who have unpaid fines or other registration issues.

It is not yet clear if the automated system will come at any extra cost to the province.

The Ford government has not said exactly when automatic renewals will be introduced, but the premier promised it would be on the table “very soon.”

“It will be legislated when we get back,” Ford said.

The changes are part of new omnibus legislation that the province is set to