HAMILTON, Ont. (Dec. 6, 2004) — A week after being criticized in a provincial audit for widespread fraud, Ontario’s controversial Drive Clean emissions testing program has been found to contain compliance loopholes, the Hamilton Spectator reports.

The newspaper has learned that hundreds of U-Haul Rental trucks operating in Ontario are not required to undergo testing — and there could be thousands more vehicles.

All 1,840 trucks in the fleet bear Arizona licence plates and international agreements on commercial truck fleets mean that all of the trucks and are thus exempt from the province’s mandatory emissions testing program, the Spectator reports.

Under a continent-wide system, the home jurisdiction for a fleet collects registration fees and taxes on behalf of all of the provinces and states where trucks will operate. In the case of Phoenix-based U-Haul, the state of Arizona collects the fees, and forwards Ontario a proportion based on the mileage the vehicles accumulate in this province.

Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Bob Nichols could not readily comment on the total number of apportioned vehicles in the province.

The vehicles, however, are still subject to roadside testing by environment ministry staff who look for heavily-smoking vehicles.

An analysis of motor vehicle registrations by the Spectator shows that since Drive Clean started, there has been an increase in passenger vehicle registrations in areas north of the Drive Clean area — Muskoka, Haliburton, and Parry Sound, for example.

Many people from Drive Clean areas have cottages in these fringe northern areas, and provincial law does not prohibit using a seasonal address to register a motor vehicle.

Environment Minister Leona Dombrowsky has moved up a review of the program after the provincial auditor found evidence of widespread fraud, with Drive Clean certificates being used multiple times to certify different vehicles.

— from the Hamilton Spectator, via Canadian Press