March 5, 2021

By: MICHAEL AHART
VICE PRESIDENT OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS

On March 2, the Canadian Minister of Transport, the Honorable Omar Alghabra, released a statement on newly formed enforcement procedures around the Canadian Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate, which is slated to go into effect on June 12, 2021. The mandated deadline remains as is. However, the government will begin a phased enforcement rollout after the deadline that focuses on education and awareness at first. Therefore, there will be no enforcement penalties at the start of the mandate.

“I am firmly committed to this timeline,” the minister began in his statement, “— these devices will further strengthen road safety in Canada. At the same time, the impact of COVID-19 on commercial vehicle operations has been unprecedented and must be acknowledged. As such, with the support of provinces and territories, and in consultation with industry, we will work together on the successful and effective implementation of a progressive enforcement period.”

The statement was vague as to the timeline or to what progressive enforcement would look like. Those details are still being worked out, but it certainly relieves the stress of having to fully comply by the rapidly approaching effective date. I will continue to communicate developments as plans are released over the next couple of months.

As a reminder, the phased-in enforcement rollout of the ELD regulations in no way removes the responsibility from a driver to maintain compliance with the current Hours of Service regulations, including the requirement to produce Records of Duty Status, when requested by a safety official, for the current and previous 14 days.

At Omnitracs, we remain committed to preparing your fleet for success by June 12, 2021, and beyond. As we’ve said previously, we will obtain certification and have the resources and planning in place to help you get ready by the Canadian ELD Mandate deadline.

We strongly encourage our customers to update their devices as migrations become available. Stalling or slowing down your implementation plans can jeopardize the flow of your operations if you’re scrambling to equip your fleet and delay training your drivers and support personnel until the last minute. Without the pressure of immediate enforcement, you can continue to work with us to prepare your fleet as scheduled and have more time dedicated to training and awareness. With extended time for training, every driver can utilize the benefits of steady adoption and become comfortable with their ELD interface. This way, by the time enforcement inevitably goes into effect, drivers will understand how to use their ELDs and have comprehensive and first-hand awareness of the benefits they’re gaining.

As you continue to operate in a world of changing compliance, we work in parallel to your needs and continuously meet and outperform product standards and regulations. That’s why we will continue to work aggressively toward gaining third-party certification for the Canadian ELD Mandate and helping our customers migrate to certified ELDs. As an industry pioneer, we don’t intend to be prepared at the last minute. Planning ahead means we can help you plan ahead. We will help guide you, your teams, and your business to success — before, at, and after June 12, 2021.

Learn more about the Canadian ELD Mandate at EverythingELD — our one-stop webpage for all things Canadian-ELD-related. Reach out to your Omnitracs Account Manager for questions on your Omnitracs ELD, or speak to a specialist to find the ELD solution that best fits your operations.