The Municipality of Pontiac has started billing non-resident drivers involved in collisions on route 148.
The Municipality’s Mayor, Joanne Labadie, says the move comes down to cost.
“Our municipality is a small municipality, with a very small operating budget,” Labadie said.
“We have a major highway that goes through our community with many accidents.”
Highway 148 is a provincial road, but the local fire service responds to most calls, as a provincial response is usually far away.
Richard Giroulx, the director of fire services, says crews respond to about 90 collisions on this stretch of road each year, and more than half are for non-residents.
Labadie says use of the Jaws of Life by the Pontiac fire service can cost more than $1,000. She says about 50-thousand is spent providing the service to non-residents annually.
“It puts a big burden on us and our taxpayers, so like many other municipalities in Quebec, this is a decision our council made,” the Mayor said.
In years past, Labadie says costs for service would be covered by provincial funding. She says recently the money has been scaled back.
Labadie says a driver can recover the cost of the bill from the Municipality through insurance.
In a statement, a representative with the Insurance Bureau of Canada says that is true in most cases.
“The Ontario Automobile Policy (OAP1) does provide coverage for fire department charges, under the optional loss or damage coverages (e.g. Collision; Comprehensive; All Perils), for which you are legally responsible, if this is due to an insured peril,” wrote Pete Karageorgos, Director, Consumer & Industry Relations.
Karageorgos says drivers should check directly with an insurance representative to ensure they have appropriate coverages.