Waiting Period Between Car and Truck Licence a Positive Step, Says OTA

Source: OTA

October 24, 2025 – Toronto

The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) has welcomed a bill introduced this week by Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack, proposing a mandatory waiting period before testing for a commercial driver’s licence after obtaining a Class G licence. However, the OTA cautions that stronger oversight is still needed to restore highway safety and clean up criminal activity within the trucking sector.

The bill mirrors a private member’s bill first introduced last year by MPP Amarjot Sandhu, which was interrupted by the provincial election.

OTA President Stephen Laskowski called the move a positive step but emphasized that lawmakers must work closely with industry and the public, keeping in mind key protections for highway safety, immigration integrity, and labour rights.

“Immigration is vital to our industry’s future. But right now, the system is broken and being manipulated by unscrupulous carriers to abuse foreign labour,” said Laskowski.

The OTA has repeatedly warned about labour exploitation schemes that entrap newcomers seeking to build a life in Canada — in some cases subjecting them to unsafe conditions, forced labour, and debt bondage.

The issue has grown so severe that the OTA has called on Minister Piccini to suspend trucking immigration programs until reforms are implemented.

“This bill creates an opportunity to address the root causes of this crisis,” added Laskowski. “It’s time to clean up our industry and defend the human and labour rights of newcomers to Ontario.”