Ontario Environment and Climate Change Minister Glen Murray.
Ontario's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change says it will eliminate the fee for the province's Drive Clean vehicle emissions test regime in April of next year.
This doesn't mean the test itself is disappearing: vehicles that have been on the road for seven years or more will still have to be tested, but the $30 cost will be covered by the provincial government, a promise it made in its last budget.
Under the Drive Clean program, a vehicle has to get a passing grade in order for its owner to renew their licence plates.
The province also says it's developing a smart phone app that, for some cars, will eliminate the need for owners to take their vehicle to a shop to have the test done. Instead, it says one in four vehicles on the road in Ontario is equipped with telematics hardware and software that would allow emissions control system performance to be uploaded automatically, with that data determining whether the car passes, or if it needs work before the plates can be renewed.
Ontario will absorb the cost of Drive Clean testing partly through a 4.3 cent increase in gasoline taxes, money that will be put toward a larger plan to combat climate change.
