Back On Track

You need to take Back on Track if one of the following applies to you:

• You were convicted of a Criminal Code impaired driving offence and you wish to have your driver’s licence reinstated when the suspension period ends. This includes first-time offenders who qualify for the Reduced Suspension with Ignition Interlock Conduct Review Program. Impaired driving offences include:
  • driving or having care and control of any vehicle (including boats) when your ability is impaired by alcohol or other drugs
  • driving or having care and control of any land or water vehicle when your blood alcohol content (BAC) is more than .08 per cent
  • failing or refusing to provide a breath or blood sample.
• You have committed any combination of the following provincial impaired driving offences in the past 10 years:
  • zero BAC for young drivers
  • warn range (BAC above .05)
  • zero BAC for novice drivers
  • BAC over .08 or fail/refuse testing
  • driving impaired by drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol, based on the Standard Field Sobriety Test
  • driving impaired by drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol, based on drug recognition expert evaluation.

Register a week (7 days) after your impaired conviction or administrative suspension to avoid delays in getting your licence back or a further licence suspension. Early registration is especially important for first-time offenders who wish to qualify for a reduced suspension.

Back on Track has three parts: the Assessment, the 8-hour Education or 16-hour Treatment Workshop and the six-month Follow Up. What parts you need to take depends on why you are required to take Back on Track:

• For a Criminal Code impaired driving conviction, you need to complete all three parts.
• For two or more administrative suspensions in the past 10 years, you only need to take the workshop part of the program — the Education workshop (if you have had two suspensions) or the Group Treatment workshop (if you have had three or more suspensions).

1. ASSESSMENT

The Assessment takes about one hour and determines whether those taking Back on Track for a Criminal Code offence need to take the one-day or the two-day workshop.

2. EDUCATION OR GROUP TREATMENT WORKSHOP

Education workshop

Topics covered in this eight-hour workshop include: the myths and facts about alcohol and other drugs

• how alcohol and other drugs affect driving performance and safety
• the legal and personal consequences of an impaired driving offence
• ways to separate drinking and other drug use from driving.

Group Treatment workshop

This 16-hour workshop covers the same topics as the Education workshop and also looks at:

• why people drink or use other drugs, and how it affects our lives
• ways to cut down or stop your alcohol or other drug use
• strategies and skills to manage mood, stress and anger
• strategies and skills to communicate effectively and to live a healthy lifestyle.

3. SIX-MONTH FOLLOW-UP

The Follow-Up interview can only be done six months after you complete the workshop part of the program.

Local providers deliver the program in various locations in Ontario. A list of providers will be sent to you once your registration has been processed.

NOTICE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all program components are conducted virtually. At this time, there are no in-person appointments. Please contact the Back on Track Head Office if you have questions in regards to this at 1-888-814-5831

It’s up to you to find a way to get to the program. Most people take public transit or a taxi, or ask someone to drive them.

The Back on Track program is offered in English, and is also available in French in some areas. Program materials are available in English or French.

If you have difficulty reading or speaking English or French, please note this on your registration form. You will need to bring a translator or interpreter to the program. This person must be 18 years of age or older.

If you have any additional needs that may make it difficult for you to participate in the program, please note them on your registration form.

To pass the program, you must meet the following requirements:

• Don’t use alcohol (including dealcoholized beverages), drugs or cannabis products (including CBD products that may contain THC) within 24 hours of or on any day that you participate in the program. You may take medication prescribed by a physician provided it does not impair your ability to participate in the program.
• Don’t show signs of odor of alcohol (including dealcoholized beverages), drugs or cannabis products within 24 hours of or on any day that you participate in the program.
• Don’t use prescribed drugs that impair your ability to participate in the program.
• Attend all scheduled program components and arrive on time.
• You must provide 24 hours’ notice that you are unable to attend by leaving a message directly with the service provider. The only acceptable reasons for missing a session without giving 24 hours’ notice are serious illness, a death in your immediate family, or severe weather.
• Actively participate in the program.
• Show that you have learned how to separate drinking and other drug use from driving.
• Treat other participants and staff with respect.
• Complete the required parts of the program.

If you fail the program for any of the above reasons, you will have to repeat all the steps, starting with registration and payment, and including repeating the required parts of the program. This could delay getting your licence back.

For an impaired driving conviction, the fee is $894. For a administrative suspension, the fee is $344.

The time it takes to complete Back on Track depends partly on why you need to take it, and partly on you. The fastest way to get through the program is to register on-line at www.remedial.net and book each required part as soon as possible. It is your responsibility to schedule each part of the program with your local Back on Track provider.

Once you are registered and contacted the local provider of your choice, completing Back on Track can take:

• up to 90 days for an administrative suspension
• up to 11 months for an impaired driving conviction.

First-time offenders who qualify for a reduced suspension need to only complete the Assessment part of Back on Track within their suspension period (3 or 6 months); however, they must go on to complete the Education or Treatment and the Follow-Up part of the program.

If you have an administrative suspension your licence will be suspended until you complete the program. You have 120 days from the start of your administrative suspension period to complete the Education workshop and 180 days to complete the Treatment workshop.

If you have been convicted of impaired driving your licence will remain suspended. If you are a participant in the reduced suspension program, you will be unable to exit the program and your ignition interlock period will continue.

You can register in the following ways:

ONLINE: Visit our website at www.remedial.net.

BY MAIL OR FAX: Please download (for Impaired Conviction or Administrative Suspension) and print the registration package forms.

Contact the Back on Track office by phone to have the registration package mailed or faxed to you, or visit our website to print out the package.

You will need to:

• complete the required parts of Back on Track
• pay any outstanding fees, fines or penalties
• wait for any suspension periods to end.

Please visit the Ontario Ministry of Transportation website at http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/impaired-driving.shtml.

For more information about Back on Track or to register, please contact us:

Website

www.remedial.net

Email

info@remedial.net

Phone

416-595-6593

Toll-free: 1-888-814-5831

Call Monday to Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to speak to a staff person; call at other times to listen to recorded information.

Fax

416-595-6735

Mail

Back on Track
33 Ursula Franklin Street
Toronto, ON
M5S 2S1