“The Northwest Territories won’t be ready on January 1 but expect to begin enforcement sometime before the end of January. All other jurisdictions indicated they either are or will be ready to begin enforcement of the federal regulation by January 1.”
B.C. and Quebec plan to enforce the rules for provincial carriers but have not confirmed timelines, while Nova Scotia will require carriers that operate solely in that province to have ELDs on Jan 1., 2024. Carriers that run exclusively in the Northwest Territories will face a mandate before the end of January.
Alberta and Saskatchewan have no current plans to require ELDs provincially. Provincial carriers that operate in P.E.I. only operate within a 160-km radius, which does not require a logbook or an ELD.
“This new regulation will help reduce driver fatigue and make it easier for truck drivers to log their hours,” Ontario Transport Minister Caroline Mulroney said during the Ontario Trucking Association’s annual conference, citing “overwhelming” support from that organization.
Approved ELDs
Transport Canada has approved 55 ELDs, which have been certified as meeting the underlying technical standards.
“To confirm if a device you are currently using is compliant, you must verify the device name, model # as well as the software version,” Millian said in the PMTC bulletin.
“The last part is very important. Very few devices currently in use have updated their software and therefore are not currently compliant. Ensure to verify this, and if not updated, reach out to your supplier to find out when it will be updated and how this may change the operation of the system.”
Exempted trucks include those produced before Model Year 2000, or trucks that are rented for no more than 30 days.
“An exemption is also being worked on for drive-away-away-operators and the Motion Picture Industry and is expected to be in place by January 1,” Millian added.
A “ferry exemption” within the federal rules will allow carriers to apply related time to eight-hour off-duty requirements — including time waiting to board a ferry, time on the ferry, and time driving to a location within 25 km of disembarking.
While ELDs will still show violations in such circumstances, drivers will avoid violations if they carry proof that they comply with the ferry rules, with things like receipts for boarding and cabin berths.