Your reactions: criticisms and kudos for Ontario’s new licence plates

Ontario’s new licence plates were released about 10 days ago and residents have opinions on everything from the new colour, to the slogan and even the material they are made of. Dilshad Burman has online reaction to the redesign.

By Dilshad Burman and News Staff

Ontario has all new licence plates that have been completely redesigned and feature new colours, a different font and a new slogan, along with being made of a different material.

They’ve been on the road for about 10 days now and Ontarians have already raised concerns about every single new feature.

CityNews asked online audiences on Facebook and Twitter how they felt about the updated plates and our social pages were flooded with responses.

A majority of those who commented were simply not pleased with the changes, bringing up various ways in which the new plates were inferior. Very few seemed neutral or indifferent and even fewer were in favour.

Here are the main themes of concern we saw among the comments we received:

Cost to taxpayers

A major concern we saw on Facebook and Twitter was the cost to tax payers – firstly about how much the redesign cost in the first place and secondly about the cost of replacing old plates.

But it’s important to note that you don’t have to swap out your plates immediately. New plates are only needed if your current ones are badly damaged, lost or stolen or if you buy a new vehicle.

Damaged plates may be replaced for free if they are taken back to Service Ontario within five years from the date you bought them because they are guaranteed by the manufacturer for that period. This means if your old plates were bought in 2015 or later and are deemed to be defective, you can swap them out for new ones free of cost. If they are older, you’ll need to pay $59 to get them replaced.

One respondent did point out a few positives when it comes to cost and durability.

 

Visibility

Visibility was one of the biggest concerns among the comments we received. With darker colours on the licence plate, some are raising concerns about visibility, especially at night. Many also say the plates are not reflective, but rather give off a glare when light bounces off them. The lack of raised letters is also being called a bad move.

 

New colours

Several comments centred around the overall look as well as the blue and white colour scheme of the new plates.

Some simply labelled them “ugly.”

 

Others compared the new plates to a Q-tip box.

 

And several could not help but notice the colours also happen to be those of the Progressive Conservative Party

 

New slogan

The slogan on the new plates is “A place to grow,” a line from the song A place to Stand, Ontario’s unofficial anthem, commissioned by the Progressive Conservatives under John Robarts in 1967.

While some found it tacky, others questioned what  “grow” referred to and many felt it was referencing the recent legalization of cannabis.

 

And others simply preferred the old slogan “Yours to discover”

 

For more comments and reactions and to share your own thoughts about the new licence plates, visit our Twitter and Facebook pages.

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