There are two schools of thought regarding the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s (MTO) second extension of the deadline for truck driver training schools to incorporate detailed lesson plans in their mandatory entry-level training (MELT) programs.

The Ontario Commercial Truck Training Association (OCTTA) has 50 members and lobbied for the delay. This group is happy the timeline has been pushed back another nine months to July 1, 2026.

Other folks are extremely upset. These include members of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO), which has 56 accredited schools.

A search on Ontario’s career college search service website reveals there are 255 tractor-trailer/driver licensing institutions in the province. It seems the remaining 149 schools are sitting on the sidelines watching the drama unfold.

This is how the situation went down. On Christmas Eve last year, when most people were focused on gifts, family gatherings and good cheer, the MTO snuck out a bulletin ordering driver certification program organizations and registered career college course providers to clarify how they create and incorporate standardized lesson plan requirements into their curriculum.

Repeated deadline extensions

The updated curriculum, including lesson plans, were to be submitted to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities by July 1 this year. In the province, truck driving schools must be registered as career colleges.

In June, MTO extended the deadline to Oct. 1. And on Sept. 23, another extension was offered.

OCTTA lobbied for the delay, saying the move responds to repeated requests from the industry. Why? Narinder Singh Jaswal, OCTTA president, said that a series of stakeholder meetings is underway to evaluate and potentially revise MELT standards. So why submit detailed lesson plans only to have them revised once new requirements are finalized? This will lead to additional costs for cash-strapped schools in the current economic situation, he noted.

Schools upset and frustrated

The TTSAO and its member schools were upset and frustrated. TTSAO president Philip Fletcher added that TTSAO and other safety organizations were not consulted. He argued a short grace period of two to three weeks would have been reasonable, but a nine-month extension is “excessive” and “rewards non-compliance.”

TTSAO member schools said they were ready with their updated lesson plans, having invested the time and money to meet the previous Oct. 1 deadline.

One school owner warned that the delay will cost lives. Another said the decision feels like progress is being rolled back, while non-compliant operators gain yet another reprieve. Each delay, she warned, erodes confidence in the system and increases risks on Ontario’s roads.

When MTO issued its latest bulletin, it said “MTO has received feedback from stakeholders expressing concern about fulfilling curriculum resubmission requirements.”

Some stakeholders contacted trucknews.com saying they were not consulted, and opposed this extension.

MTO mum on stakeholder consultation

The MTO did not respond to a question as to which stakeholders were consulted. The ministry also did not say if the stakeholder meetings to potentially revise MELT were a reason for the extension.

If the MTO is holding meetings on revising MELT, why ask driving schools to present updated minute-by-minute lesson plans in the first place? Wouldn’t it make more sense to formulate a plan and then ask the schools to act on it?

The word deadline seems to have lost its meaning as the timeline keeps expanding. A little more transparency from the ministry will go a long way in providing training schools and the trucking industry with a glimpse into the future of truck driver training.

Letting this issue simmer for another nine months will only lead to emotions coming to a boil. Let’s hope MTO slips out another bulletin this Christmas Eve that brings tidings of comfort and joy.