A local MPP has started a petition to convince the province to scrap the Drive Clean program, but the people behind the program say it’s a necessary tool to help protect Ontario’s environment.
Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris is behind the petition. He says the Progressive Conservatives as a whole believe Drive Clean’s time has passed.
“We believe that this program has outlived its usefulness and should be scrapped,” he tells CTV.
Going by the signatures on the petition, more than 7,000 people agree with Harris.
Chris Tsegas, the owner of Fowler Tires in Kitchener, says he feels eliminating Drive Clean would be unfair to any private business owner who has continually spent money to keep their facility Drive Clean-eligible.
“It’d like to get my money back from them, at least the $17,000 that I just put back in,” he says.
Environment minister spokesperson Kate Jordan says the government stands behind the test.
“You don’t see junkers spewing black smoke on the road anymore – they can’t pass the Drive Clean Test. We don’t want to go back to those pre-Drive Clean days,” she said in a statement.
In 2012, the provincial auditor general questioned Drive Clean’s effectiveness, saying recent reductions in vehicle emissions levels are largely due to other factors.
