ELD mandate now enforced in most of Canada

Editor’s note: It was reported in late January, after we went to press, that an ELD will be required on heavy vehicles traveling through Quebec beginning April 30.

Full enforcement of the United States’ electronic logging device mandate started in 2018. Five years later, most of Canada has followed suit.

As of Jan. 1, the ELD mandate is being enforced in most Canadian provinces.

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.

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.

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.

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