The Ontario government will give up on its new white-on-blue licence plate design and return to something resembling the traditional blue-on-white design, with some minor changes, according to a report from the Toronto Star early March.

The new revised plates will be revealed in the next few days, the newspaper says, not citing its source, and will completely replace the “Q-Tip box” plates that have been recently much derided for their poor legibility in certain lighting conditions.

While the new white plates will apparently look something like the blue-on-white style used since 1973, the new “A Place to Grow” slogan will still replace the old “Yours to Discover” on passenger vehicle plates; commercial plates will also still wear the new “Open for Business” slogan.

The new plates will also not feature raised numbers or letters like the old plates, which many complained were prone to seeing their paint peel off.

The reverse-course by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government comes just weeks after a Kingston police officer pointed out the new blue plates were nearly impossible to read at night, and days after NDP Leader Andrea Horwath formally requested the province’s auditor general probe the cost of the licence plate fiasco.

After initially denying there was a problem with the plates, Government and Consumer Minister Lisa Thompson admitted the design was defective, but said vendor 3M would cover all costs associated with a fix. A non-disclosure agreement between the province and 3M means the actual costs and specifics of the problem are not publicly known.

Roughly 71,000 of the blue plates have been distributed to motorists since February 1; they will be mailed instructions on how to get replacements. The traditional “Yours to Discover” blue-on-white plates will be handed out until the revised plate is ready for issue.