Canada ELD mandate enforced in most provinces

An electronic logging mandate is now in effect in most Canadian provinces.

Full enforcement of the mandate took effect on Jan. 1.

Canada’s ELD mandate took effect in June 2021, but jurisdictions planned no penalties or hard enforcement for the first year. Then in March 2022, enforcement was postponed until Jan. 1, 2023.

Unlike in the U.S., Canada’s ELD 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.

Quebec delays enforcement

The province of Quebec announced recently that it was postponing enforcement until June 1 because of “administrative delays resulting from obligations relating to a regulatory change process.”

In a statement to Land Line, Marc Cadieux, CEO of the Quebec Trucking Association, said the postponement was unacceptable.

Cadieux said the trucking industry has been ready for ELD regulations for years.

“The absurdity of this situation is that since regulations will be in effect in the other provinces as of January 2023, all carriers leaving Quebec must be equipped with an approved and functional ELD,” he said.

The province’s decision to wait another six months follows a series of postponements regarding enforcement of the ELD mandate.

Information on the ELD mandate based on jurisdiction can be found here.

The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators encourages those with questions related to ELDs to contact the relevant jurisdiction. LL