Toronto, Ontario — The Ontario government has confirmed that it will be working with 3M Canada to fix the province’s new license plates that prove difficult to read in low light.
The provincial government originally denied any defects with the new plates but, on Feb. 20, it confirmed the issues had been recognized. Following the announcement, 3M Canada issued a statement confirming it would be addressing the concerns.
The statement reads, “At 3M we are focused on applying our innovation and technology and are committed to working together with all stakeholders during design, testing, and deployment. We stand behind our products and are actively providing solutions to the Ontario government to address the readability issue as quickly as possible.”
Approximately 49,000 of the new plates have been distributed to Ontarians, and an additional 134,000 are currently in Service Ontario locations, the government said. These will continue to be distributed until a fix is found.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government revealed the new plates in the 2019 budget, saying the government spent $500,000 on a consultation on branding but had a new contract for licence plate production that saved $4 million.
The defects were first noticed last week when a Kingston police officer posted a photo of a new plate in low lighting—and it proved difficult to read.
A number of groups have expressed concerns about the impact the problem could have on public safety, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
“We want to reassure Ontarians that the current plate does not pose a risk to public safety,” Consumer Services Minister Lisa Thompson said in a statement.
