STO plans to crack down on Ontario license plates

Taylor Clark

The Société de transport de l’Outaouais hopes to even the playing field between vehicles registered in Quebec and Ontario when it comes to the new registration tax that will be enforced next year.

Gatineau municipal council recently approved the tax in two installments. Come January 2025, the annual transit contribution will be upped to $60 and increased another $30 the following year.

The first installment was expected to bring in $10 million, which would cover the Société de transport de l’Outaouais’ yearly structural deficit. At $90, the second installment was projected to collect $15 million and allow the public transit system to invest the remaining $5 million in additional services. But all these figures do not include funds from Ontario-registered vehicles that now call Gatineau home. 

The president of the Société de transport de l’Outaouais’ board of directors, Jocelyn Blondin, would like the public transit system to work alongside the Ville de Gatineau to call upon the provincial government to remedy the situation.

“I think that what we want is equity among citizens who are the majority here in Quebec,” said Blondin. “But is it only up to the Ville de Gatineau to take these blows? I do not think so. I think that Quebec should be there to help us have a special kind of squad.”

The president suggested police issue tickets to vehicles with Ontario plates and then it would be up to the vehicle’s owner to prove whether they were residents of Gatineau.

While they did not have an exact number of vehicles registered to Ontario in the area, Blondin said the plates were a “consideration revenue card” that was growing in numbers across the different sectors.

To those residing in the area with Ontario plates, Blondin encouraged them to comply and settle in Quebec “before getting a ticket.”

Once a new mayor was named, the president said he planned to sit down together with the police chief to discuss the next steps.

Photo caption: Jocelyn Blondin, president of the board of directors for the Société de transport de l’Outaouais, would like to see a special squad created to track down Gatineau residents with vehicles registered to the neighbouring province.

Photo credit: Screenshot of Société de transport de l’Outaouais’s conseil d’administration du 25 avril 2024