The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has raised concerns over the recent decision by Mississauga City Council to approve an unprecedented 87.5% increase to towing fees within the area.
Councillor Carolyn Parrish had originally introduced the motion to increase tow fees in Mississauga during a June 22 meeting, which unanimously passed without consultation. On July 06, nine out of 10 councillors and Mayor Bonnie Crombie ratified the motion.
According to the IBC, consumers in the city in need of towing services will now be charged $750, up from $400. The bureau was present during the council meeting to request the decision be placed on hold in the absence of documentation to justify the increase. IBC also noted during the meeting that inflation was placing extreme pressures on consumers, and that the council’s decision was not in the public’s interest.
Charging as much as $750 makes Mississauga an “extreme outlier” with respect to other cities in the GTA and across Ontario, IBC commented in a release following the decision. To make its point, the bureau listed off the average towing costs in other cities such as Toronto ($280), Brampton ($400), London ($275), and Ottawa ($300).
The increase also comes at a time when the Ontario government is bringing more oversight to the towing industry – an industry fraught with fraud and violence, IBC said. The bureau mentioned that the Ontario Ministry of Transportation recently implemented a restricted tow zone pilot project on 400-series highways in the GTA – which included Mississauga – that is meant to curb the unscrupulous practice of “first-to-scene” tow truck chasing.
IBC also pointed out that Ontario passed the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act (TSSEA) in May 2021 to clamp down on criminality and fraud in the towing and storage sectors.
“IBC believes Mississauga’s decision to arbitrarily increase tow fees reinforces the need for provincial oversight and a clear and transparent process to regulate tow fees that are fair to consumers,” the bureau concluded in its statement, adding that it is reiterating its call for the council to reverse the decision until the impact of the increase can be studied.
