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Transforming Canada’s Towing Oversight: Blueprint for Transparent, Citizen‑Centric Regulation

Executive summary

Public-sector IT transformations are notoriously hard to deliver on time, on budget, and on value—yet Ontario’s towing reform shows how policy, process, and platform can land together.

  • Only 1 in 200 public‑sector IT projects deliver intended benefits on time and within budget; average overruns are 75% (cost) and 46% (schedule), with 39% less value realized.
  • Ontario became the first province in Canada to require certification for both tow truck drivers and vehicle storage operators (effective July 1, 2024), with more than 300,000 tows annually in the province.
  • The province introduced a public portal to verify operator certificate status and maximum rates, anchoring law and service design transparency. Early adoption metrics indicate strong uptake in Ontario.

Why regulate the towing sector now

Unregulated or fragmented oversight can enable price gouging, safety risks, and erode public trust—especially in high‑stress roadside incidents. Ontario’s Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act (TSSEA) establishes a province‑wide certification, customer rights, and enforcement regime.

Key policy pillars codified in TSSEA include:

  • Mandatory certification for tow operators, tow truck drivers, and vehicle storage operators
  • Prohibited practices, consent, invoices, and customer rights
  • Administrative penalties and offences; inspections and auditability

Making rates transparent and empowering citizens

Ontario operationalized transparency with a digital service that lets the public view an operator’s certificate status and maximum rates; operators must publish and maintain their Maximum Rate Schedule.

Beyond Ontario: Why other provinces should act

Across Canada, towing oversight is a patchwork of municipal bylaws, crown‑insurer schedules, and program‑specific regulations. Establishing province‑wide certification and a public rates portal can standardize protections, reduce disputes, and improve enforcement.

How Infosys Public Services helped Ontario deliver at pace

Infosys partnered with the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) to design and implement the Towing and Storage Oversight application (TSOA) - a modern, accessible, audited platform that operationalizes TSSEA policy. Highlights:

  • Digital licensing and compliance workflows for operators, drivers, and vehicle storage
  • Self‑service portal that reduces calls and manual handling
  • AODA/WCAG‑aligned user experience
  • End‑to‑end audit trails and standardized communications
  • Agile/DevOps delivery enabling continuous integration, deployment, and testing

Results and early outcomes

  • More than 300,000 tows occur annually in Ontario, underscoring the scale of citizen impact. (Ontario Newsroom)
  • Increased transparency via the public rates and certification portal, supporting fair pricing and faster dispute resolution.

Delivering policy, process, and platform together - A blueprint other provinces can adopt in 180 days

  • Policy to code: finalize certification, customer rights, and rate‑transparency rules with legal draftables ready for digital implementation (Forms, Rate Schedule schema).
  • Design for adoption: co‑create citizen, operator, and regulator journeys; bake in consent, invoices, and dispute flows.
  • Build the public “single source of truth”: searchable portal for operator certification and maximum rates; bulk‑upload for industry.
  • Modernize oversight: analytics for compliance anomalies; auditable case management for inspections and penalties.
  • Governance & risk: stage‑gates, live dashboards on cost/schedule/value; red‑team tests for accessibility, privacy, and security.

Compliance, privacy, and accessibility by design

TSSEA provides explicit powers for certification, records, inspections and information management; the solution aligns with AODA/WCAG and government security baselines.

Call to action

Ready to replicate Ontario’s transparency model in your province or municipality? Contact Infosys Public Services to co‑design policy‑to‑platform implementations with measurable outcomes in months, not years.