Ontario takes tough action against illegal truck yards on farmland

 

 

The provincial government is taking tough action against illegal trucking yards and depots that encroach on rural and agricultural areas in Ontario. Through a new Planning Act amendment, the government has decided to give local governments full authority to impose Administrative Monetary Penalties against such violators without the long wait for court proceedings.

This urgent intervention comes amid a growing trend of converting valuable land currently set aside for agricultural purposes in areas such as Caledon and Halton Hills in the GTA region into parking lots for commercial trucks. Authorities point out that such illegally operating yards cause severe environmental pollution in the soil and that the constant service of large vehicles is damaging rural roads.

Currently, municipalities have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and go to court for years to take action against such companies. The new law will solve this crisis. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport has also stated that new parking facilities will be provided by identifying government-owned land in priority areas such as Peel, York and Halton to address the parking shortage faced by trucks operating legally.