The Department of Transport is finally enforcing an auto bill passed by Parliament in 2018 that grants regulators new powers to recall faulty cars. Millions of “unsafe vehicles” are on Canadian roads, by official estimate.

“Penalties would apply per violation meaning they could be stacked for multiple violations,” the department said in a statement. “Factors will be used to determine the size of the penalty including the risk or harm posed by the violation.”

No reason was given for the delay. Parliament in 2018 passed Bill S-2 An Act To Amend The Motor Vehicle Safety Act to permit regulators to order vehicle recalls under threat of $200,000-a day fines. Similar U.S. legislation dates from 1966. The bill also allowed the transport department to negotiate out-of-court consent agreements with companies found in breach of the law.