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Trade Playbook

Snow & Ice Management

No provincial trade licence required

Snow and ice management is contract revenue in the dead season — plowing, salting, and sidewalk crews under seasonal or per-event contracts. The business is won on reliability and lost on slip-and-fall liability, which Ontario law has recently made more manageable.

Snow & Ice Management at a glance

Licence to do the work
Not required — contracts, documentation, and insurance are the real gates
Path in
Subcontract a route for a season, then take your own contracts
Regulated by
Occupiers' Liability Act (60-day notice); MTO/CVOR for trucks
Insurance baseline
Slip-and-fall: logs, GPS records, and clear contracts keep you insurable

The licensing layer, explained

No licence to plow — the gates are commercial: contracts, insurance, and liability management. Ontario's Occupiers' Liability Amendment Act now requires written notice of a slip-and-fall claim within 60 days, which (with documented salting logs and GPS records) materially improved the insurability of snow work. Smart About Salt certification signals responsible salt practice; fleet/CVOR rules apply to plow trucks.

Certifications in this trade

  • SASSmart About Salt certification

Insurance to expect

Slip-and-fall is the whole game: insurers want documented salting logs, GPS-tracked routes, and signed contracts with clear scope (who decides when to salt). Premiums dropped after the 60-day notice law, but documentation discipline is still what keeps you coverable.

Keep reading

Ready to build a snow and ice management business?

AEC Stack handles incorporation, licensing, insurance, compliance, and operations, so you can focus on the work.

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