History

A Pioneer in Old Vehicle Recycling in Canada

In 2002, the AQLPA, jointly with its partners, launched “Clear The Air!”, one of the very first vehicle recycling programs in Canada, whose main objective was to retire older highly-polluting vehicles from the road, thus supporting improvement of air quality and promoting the use of alternative modes of transportation. Since the 1990s, the AQLPA had been mandated by the Quebec government to lay the foundations for a vehicle inspection and maintenance program, of which an integral part was the disposal of the oldest and most environmentally-unfriendly vehicles. Over a six year period, the federal and provincial governments, public transit corporations and the private sector jointly financed the “Clear The Air!” program.

“Clear The Air!”, An Economic and Environmental Necessity

Why recycle old jalopies? The reasons are pretty simple: they are very expensive to maintain, consume a lot more fuel than late-model vehicles, but more importantly they constitute a major source of air pollution and contribute to forming smog, the slow killer that invades large urban centres and is at the root of thousands of citizens dying prematurely every year.

In 2008, the federal government introduced the nation-wide Canadian vehicle recycling program entitled Retire Your Ride(1), administered in individual provinces by various groups. To this end, Environment Canada mandated the Clean Air Foundation to establish partnerships until the program’s expiry, on March 31, 2011. The program’s objective consists in retiring 100,000 vehicles of model year 1995 or earlier from Canada’s roads.

In February, 2009, the AQLPA signed a two-year agreement with the Clean Air Foundation and became the organization responsible for implementing the program in Quebec. “Clear The Air!” is thus Quebec’s contribution to the Retire Your Ride program.

Relying on its expertise and its long-established partnerships with transportation corporations and other organizations, the AQLPA is entirely confident of reaching its objective of retiring 10,000 vehicles per year from Quebec’s roads during the program’s term.

As the vehicle’s circulating on Quebec’s roads age, it becomes essential to dispose of the oldest, highly-polluting vehicles. When the Canadian vehicle recycling program expires on March 31, 2011, “Clear The Air!” could continue, this time as part of a bill currently under study by the Quebec government. This bill would institute compulsory inspection and maintenance of all vehicles and regulate their emission levels. Quebec is one of the few jurisdictions left in North America, which has not yet adopted this measure. For over 15 years, the AQLPA has emphasized the necessity of enacting such a law, where the recycling and repair assistance components would be of major importance.

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¹ The Government of Canada has committed $92 million over four years to the Retire Your Ride program to help Canadians recycle their older, higher polluting vehicles and make sustainable transportation choices, leading to reduced air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.