The PCs have announced their plan to scrap the controversial emissions testing program.
The program was created in April 1999 with the intention of getting vehicles adding to the pollution and smog in the air off the road. It was called by the PCs today out-dated and ineffective.
The plan is to replace the current Drive Clean program for older passenger cars with a new program that will focus on heavy-duty cars, such as transport trucks. That program is scheduled to take effect on April 1st, 2019. Premier Doug Ford says this new program will save the province $40 million a year.
Boyer GM is one of the two dealerships in town that do emissions tests. Doug, the Service Manager, says that the Drive Clean program did get cars off the road, but there were ways around it. Drivers could get a conditional pass that would allow them to continue driving their car, even if it failed the emissions test. “I think in the long run it’s (the emissions test) hard on a lot of people and can be very costly for people,” he added.
In 1999, 16 percent of cars that took the test failed. It was down to five percent last year. “It’s a huge hassle to a lot of people,” Doug said, “it hasn’t been a good program, it really hasn’t.”
The other dealership in Bancroft that does emissions testing is Price Ford. They were unavailable for comment.