OTTAWA -- Ontario is parking distribution of the new blue licence plate until a new enhanced licence plate is ready for the roads.

The Ontario Government says it will stop issuing the licence plates next week and temporarily issue the old white licence plates with blue lettering until a new plate is ready next month.

Earlier this month, front-line officers, the City of Toronto and the Ontario Safety League raised concerns about the new licence plates introduced by the Ford government. The Ontario Government admitted the plates had glaring issues, and asked the manufacturer 3M Canada to resolve the issue.

In a statement, the Minister of Government and Consumer Services Lisa Thompson said “the Government of Ontario and 3M Canada are working in partnership to resolve issues that have been raised about the new Ontario licence plates.”

Thompson adds “3M Canada is providing material to the province and testing is being completed by law enforcement and key stakeholders. Manufacturing of the new enhanced plates is expected to begin in two weeks.”

Ontario insists the current Ontario licence plate does not pose a safety risk.

Ontario has announced an interim plan for licence plates.

  • ServiceOntario centres will stop issuing the current blue Ontario licence plates on Mar. 4.
  • Starting Mar. 5, the white embossed licence plates will be temporarily issued. The province says "for cost efficiency, white embossed plates will be issued until the existing supply of material is used up."
  • Distribution of the new enhanced licence plate being manufactured by 3M Canada is scheduled to begin the week of Mar 16.

The government says the new enhanced plates will be handed out once a ServiceOntario centre exhausts its current stock of the white embossed plates.

Customers who receive the white embossed plates in the interim period will not receive new enhanced plates to replace them unless they are damaged, delaminated, lost or stolen.

Ontario says approximately 71,000 blue licence plates have been issued since Feb. 1. Drivers will be notified via mail on how to replace the blue licence plates.