Toronto, Ontario — December 19, 2013 — The government of Ontario is reviving its towing committee, the Faster Clearance Working Group (FCWG). The original FCWG was formed several years ago through the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA).
The FCWG included representation from the province, OTA and other relevant stakeholders, providing a forum to address unscrupulous activities occurring during and after collision cleanups involving commercial vehicles. According to a statement from the OTA, FCWG brought about improvements through better communication between industry, police, government and the towing sector.
OTA recently wrote Minister of Transportation, Glen Murray, asking that the FCWG be revived. Last week in formal correspondence to OTA, the minister agreed to revive the committee in 2014. OTA will work with the Ministry and the association’s tow committee to develop an agenda for the first meeting. For more information on this process or to get involved in the OTA tow committee please contact jonathan.blackham@ontruck.org.
In other news related to tow trucks and road side collisions, the Ministry of Consumer Services has launched an initiative to address potential ways to increase oversight of the towing industry and options to amend the Repair and Storage Liens Act. The work will also look at ways to reduce costs for towing and storage services, reduce the amount of auto insurance related fraud and to increase the safety aspects around the towing industry.
