Vehicle registration tax could be on the way to Gatineau 

Taylor Clark

Drivers in the Gatineau area could be paying more next year to register a vehicle as the City looks to implement a vehicle registration tax to fuel public transportation improvements. At its February 20 meeting, the municipal council agreed to have staff submit a letter of intent to the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, which is responsible for collecting the tax on behalf of municipalities. “We have until the end of March to notify the Government of Quebec of our intention, so we did not want to miss this opportunity,” former mayor France Bélisle told journalists during a briefing on February 21 before stepping down from her position the following day.

Since 1992, passenger vehicle owners who reside in certain municipalities have been required to pay an annual public transit contribution. In the Gatineau area, the annual contribution has been $30 per year.

With the passing of Bill 39 in 2023, municipalities and regional country municipalities were given the authority to impose a tax on vehicle registration based on fuel consumption under certain circumstances. “If we didn’t go ahead and signify that, we would spend a year … So, that’s why it was important to do it following Bill 39,” said Bélisle.

The former mayor said the Comité des finances would be looking into making recommendations to the Comité exécutif on how much the tax should be and how to reinject it into public transportation. Council will later have the final say but have until March 15 to notify the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec their intention. To go into effect for next January, a municipal regulation must be adopted no later than May 31 followed by an agreement between the municipality and the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec signed prior to June 15.