Canada ELD enforcement kicks in Jan. 1

Canada is scheduled to start enforcing its ELD mandate on Jan. 1.

The mandate went into effect in June 2021, but jurisdictions planned no penalties or hard enforcement for the first year. Then in March enforcement was postponed until Jan. 1, 2023.

Unlike in the U.S., in Canada electronic logging devices hardware and software must be tested and certified by a third-party certification body accredited by the Minister of Transport. When the Canadian mandate went into effect in June 2021, there were no approved devices.

The Canadian government has sanctioned some 60 devices. Approved devices can be found here. While U.S. and Canadian ELDs each record date, time, location and other data, U.S. devices may not comply with Canadian regulations. The Canadian standard requires that the devices comply with current hours-of-service regulations in Canada.

The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators has published a Canadian ELD Technical Standard FAQ.

Enforcement of Canada’s federal hours-of-service regulations and ELD mandate is a jurisdictional responsibility.

Ontario and Manitoba were the first two provinces to publish data on offenses, fines, and survey results regarding Canada’s electronic logging mandate compliance. 

In March, the Ontario Court of Justice published a set of fines related to the electronic logging mandate. These regulations and set fines correspond to offenses for breaking hours-of-service rules and ELD compliance. Among the published Ontario offenses and fines:

• Exceeding maximum driving or on-duty time ($320).
• Failing to take required off-duty time ($320).
• Failing to retain ferry receipts ($250).
• Driving a commercial vehicle with no ELD solution ($250).
• Using more than one ELD ($250).
• Tampering with the ELD ($400). LL