On May 5, 2021, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) issued a long-awaited announcement that the Canadian Provincial Authorities will not be issuing penalties to motor carriers operating in Canada who haven’t adopted an approved Electronic Logging Device by the June 12, 2021 deadline. The announcement came on the heels of a Transport Canada (TC) notice the month prior that it was working with the provinces on a progressive enforcement strategy focused on education and awareness. It was an attempt to relieve some pressure carriers were feeling with the implementation deadline looming and no certified ELDs to choose from. This reality has also left many asking, “so, what’s the holdup? Why aren’t there any approved/certified ELDs?”
On its face, 3rd-party ELD certification should ultimately provide motor carriers assurance that the device they buy is fully compliant with Canadian ELD rules. In practice, however, the detailed technical specifications and prescriptive testing procedures have become a quagmire that threatens the long-term viability of the Canadian ELD rule and is frustrating carriers and vendors alike. Reputable vendors have been uncovering technical errors, discrepancies, and inconsistencies in the testing process. The result is no devices being certified despite nearly five months of review and testing. To be sure, TC is aware of the situation and working diligently to correct errors in an attempt to feed the certified Canadian ELD pipeline. But, at least in the short-term, expect continued challenges and a very slow roll-out of approved ELD devices in Canada.
Once devices are certified, they’ll be listed here.