Most Ontarians would be completely unaware that there are hundreds of thousands of ATV riders in our province. With more than 300,000 insured vehicles and many more riders, it is a major sport and mode of transportation for getting around.
So it’s not a surprise that Ontarians also wouldn’t know that we are the last province in Canada that has not developed an interconnected, one-trail permit system for ATV trails.
The business case makes clear sense: Ontario needs to catch up to the rest of Canada so it can offer a more attractive experience for tourists who will spend time and money on multi-day trips across communities. The lack of universal safety measures and trail maintenance has led to serious injuries and death. The OPP should have a mandate to enforce dangerous driving like driving under the influence on trails provincewide. The lack of broad-based liability insurance across all trail networks is a risk to landowners and trail riders.
Most importantly, the hundreds of thousands of riders here want to travel across Ontario and pay for just one annual permit to do so. Let’s cut the red tape already!
The good news is that Ontario has gone down a similar path before and has a roadmap to follow. Snowmobiles were given legislation decades ago to establish a one-permit system through the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) which began with a handful of clubs on board but grew over the years to connect trails across Ontario. We appreciate the OFSC’s support in advocating for the same to happen for ATVs.
The timing is overdue but better late than never. Each year, the season for snowmobiles has grown shorter while the season for ATV riding has increased. Alongside an explosion of popular interest during the pandemic that continued to grow in the years since, ATVing has never been more popular, and there are magnitudes more ATV riders now than there are snowmobilers.
We need Premier Doug Ford, who himself is an active ATV rider, to put forward the political will to get things moving on a one-trail permit. We know that the Ministry of Transportation is busy with the work of building highways and subways, among other things, but there are hundreds of thousands of avid ATVers who are closely following this issue and asking why Ontario lags behind its provincial neighbours.
Riders want Ontario to take action and get this done. Let’s work together to make it happen.
— Shari Black is the Executive Director of the Ontario Federation of ATV Clubs. OFATV is a not-for-profit, member-led federation that encompasses the majority of ATV clubs provincewide.