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BY FRANK NOTTE

Beginning April 1, you’ll never again have to waste time and money to get a Drive Clean emissions test.

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It’s not an April Fool’s joke!

In September, 2018, Premier Doug Ford announced the controversial Drive Clean program for light-duty vehicles will be sent to the scrapyard for good.

It’s been a long time coming. Heck, it was supposed to be a temporary program – but it stuck around for 20 years!

When Drive Clean was introduced in 1999, it served a purpose. Back then, smog days were all too common and 16% of vehicles were failing the test. Something had to be done.

Fast forward 20 years later, only 5% of vehicles are failing the test. In other words, just about every car on the road is passing with flying colours. That’s a remarkable achievement and a good enough reason to cancel the program. In 2014, British Columbia eliminated their air emissions test with 8% of vehicles failing the test.