OCTTA discusses changes related to MELT program with MTO officials

A delegation from Ontario Commercial Truck Training Association (OCTTA) led by president Narinder Jaswal held a meeting with Prabmeet Sarkaria, Ontario’s minister of transportation, MPP Amarjot Sandhu and other MTO staff on January 13th in Brampton.

The focus of the meeting was on the upcoming changes related to the mandatory entry-level training (MELT) for commercial truck driver licences.

The OCTTA membership expressed concerns related to the requirement for training schools to re-submit a “Lesson Plan” by July 1st, 2025, and provided suggestions, which were acknowledged by the MTO staff.

Prabmeet Sarkaria, Ontario’s minister of transportation (centre-front row), Amarjot Sandhu, MPP with OCTTA officials (Photo: OCTTA)

The association has proposed that the MTO should organize a meeting of stakeholders to discuss creating a unified training program and lesson plan for all training schools in Ontario to ensure consistency and alignment with MELT requirements.

The Ministry showed commitment to further collaboration with OCTTA, promising to keep them informed and involved in future policy changes.

The OCTTA has pledged to work closely with the MTO to enhance training standards and safety across the trucking industry.

MELT and the proposed changes

The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has recently issued a bulletin which clarifies and reinforces the lesson plan requirements that are already in MTO’s Commercial Truck Driver (Class A) Training Standard.

There is a 6-month transition period for course providers and course developers to submit their lesson plans and any necessary updates to their curricula.

The sample lesson plan template has been provided to assist course providers and course developers with developing compliant lesson plans that will better aid instructors when delivering each lesson effectively to the student. The goal as per MTO is to better support course providers, instructors and students, and ensuring a high-quality learning experience.

This lesson plan template is one of many steps the MTO is taking to ensure consistency of the standards and alignment with the latest best practices and learning needs.