Will ELD Laws Come to Canada?

It took a while going through the approval process in America, but it appears Canadian truckers may be need to adopt ELD regulations relatively soon.

Even though the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Agency (FMCSA) initiated a process over 15 years ago it has only recently (December 2015) become law and carriers still have two years to comply (more if you have an existing Automatic On-Board Recording Device (AOBRD)), and Canadian firms may need to be ELD-compliant within 18 months.

What’s interesting about the process to introduce electronic logging devices into Canada is that it has been the private sector, including the Canadian Truckers Alliance (CTA), that have been pressing the Canadian government to take action, whereas in the US it was the other way around. It’s likely that Canada’s transport agency was simply taking a ‘wait and see’ approach as the FMCSA ironed out wrinkles in the ELD regulations.

Is there a date for ELD regulations in Canada?

While no date has been set for ELD compliance in Canada, it appears that there is now both official support and an expected timeline for introduction of ELD regulations.

At a roundtable conference, Canada’s Minister of Transport publicly announced Transport Canada’s support of ELDs and, on August 3, Transport Canada officially announced it was proposing to amend the Hours of Service (HOS) regulations to mandate ELDs.

Spring 2017 has been touted as when a ruling will be published and compliance enforced potentially within 12 months thereafter.

This could well pressure Canadian carriers not currently using compatible electronic tracking devices to get a move on, and advance their ELD transition. Fortunately, they can take advantage of work already done by carriers and industry partners in the US, as they prepare for the December 2017 deadline.

How do Canadian carriers get ready for ELD legislation?

Even without knowing the exact date of ELD enforcement for Canada, prudent carriers can see that change is coming and are preparing accordingly.

It makes sense to get ready sooner rather than later for the following reasons.

1. It gives you plenty of time to prepare well - A rushed decision is often not the best one. With time on your side, consider your options and avoid any last-minute bottlenecks. Why not download our free ELD planning guide to help you learn the key things you should include in your planning process.
2. Going south? You’ll need to be compliant by the end of 2017 anyway - The US ELD mandate requires truckers coming across borders (Canada and Mexico) to comply, just the same as US-based carriers.
3. Save money and increase productivity right now - Fleets that have already switched to electronic logging are seeing improvements in a number of other areas, and the cost savings are helping the solution pay for itself.
4. OEM telematics is making it easy - Truck makers, including Mack, Volvo, Freightliner and Hino, all provide easier ways to activate electronic logging. It saves the cost and downtime traditionally associated with other hardware setups.

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While Transport Canada is still sorting out the details, it’s clear that ELDs are coming to Canadian carriers and it makes perfect business sense to start getting ready now.

If you’d like someone to walk you through our range of available ELD solutions, please contact us. We’ve already helped a lot of fleets become ELD compliant in the US, and our telematics solutions are used throughout Canada, from professional navigation software and vehicle inspection tools to back-office management software to keep fleet operations efficient.

We plan to follow Canadian ELD developments closely so our clients will be fully compliant with any new requirements that will be legislated in the coming months.