Winter tire deadline passes for Quebec drivers
As of Dec. 1, all drivers in Quebec must have winter tires on their vehicles.
The winter tire law lasts until March 15. Anyone caught without winter tires on their vehicle could face fines from police of between $200 and $300.
Despite the deadline for winter tires passing, tire shops in Quebec were busy Wednesday.
"We do have quite a bit of people that come in last minute and after the deadline," says Riley MacGregor, Manager of Bristol Auto Performance in Shawville and Bristol. "We always try to get our regular customers in and promote to get them on as soon as possible, because we could start getting bad weather as soon as October and as soon as the temperature starts to drop below seven degrees."
There is no winter tire law in Ontario, but MacGregor hopes one will come in soon. The auto shop manager also runs a towing business and says despite the lack of snow on the ground, he's already been called to some avoidable crashes.
"There was a car spun out in the ditch and I got a chance to take a look at what was on there," MacGregor tells CTV News. "There wasn't even much left of the summer tires that were on it."
Despite MacGregor's shop being booked solid with winter tire appointments Wednesday, most drivers in and around Shawville seemed to be prepared.
"It's been in effect for a while, I think it used to be the 15th," says driver Nick Renaud, who got his snow tires on a week ago. "Now we just put them on ahead of time to save the fine."
Renaud says he has no problem with the fines associated with the winter tire law, which has become a regular part of winter for Quebecers.
"Not at all, I guess we're used to it now. It's been in effect for a while, they just moved the date ahead now. I mean it's hard nowadays because who knows if we're going to have snow or a mild winter."
Driver Billy Telford also got his winters on well in advance.
"Couple weeks ago, got the tires studded," says Telford from the seat of his pickup truck. "A little afraid I'm wearing on the studs; we need snow."
That's another aspect MacGregor appreciates about Quebec's winter tire law.
"I highly like to promote the studded tires if you can," says the mechanic, adding the studs bite into the ice and snow, allowing for greater peace of mind. "Unfortunately, Ontario doesn't run studded tires, but if you are Quebec plated you can run studded tires."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.