Ontario held firm on SPIF deadline despite dump truck protest

In December 2020, Ontario refused to delay the end of grandfathering under its Safe, Productive, Infrastructure-Friendly (SPIF) vehicle weights and dimensions rules, after dump truck operators protested at Queen's Park.

The protest, organized by the Ontario Dump Truck Association (ODTA), took place on Dec. 10, 2020, during a pandemic lockdown.

The rule

Ontario Regulation 413/05 allows SPIF-compliant configurations to carry higher weights, while non-SPIF vehicles are held to lower weights. When the rules took effect in July 2011, older configurations got a grandfathering period. For the last group, which included dump trucks, that period ended Dec. 31, 2020.

ODTA argued the rules unfairly forced operators to retrofit trucks with steer axles and weight distribution systems. It asked that all triaxle dump trucks be allowed to run at maximum weights for the life of the vehicle. The group said a retrofit could cost up to $40,000, and a new dump truck $250,000 to $320,000, and warned of a shortage of trucks for construction projects.

The province's answer

The Ministry of Transportation rejected the request, saying carriers had nearly 10 years to comply. It said:

• non-compliant vehicles 15 years or older could keep running after Jan. 1, 2021, at reduced weights
• vehicles built before 2011 and not yet 15 years old could keep operating at grandfathered weights under permit until they reached 15

The Ontario Trucking Association, the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada and the Ontario Safety League backed the ministry. OTA said all other truck configurations had made, or were finishing, the move to SPIF.