The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) has provided federal and provincial finance ministers across Canada a list of priorities that need to be addressed in areas of strategic infrastructure, carbon pricing,\u00a0and protecting our health care system.<\/p>\n
CTA is asking for serious consideration of the industry\u2019s recommendations, which were delivered in advance of an expected meeting between the ministers in December.<\/p>\n
One of the key priorities CTA outlined is the need to tackle the problem of tax avoidance by Driver Inc companies,\u00a0which is funneling away critical federal funding from important items like the health care system to the underground economy. CTA informed the finance ministers that its members have been unsuccessful in rallying support in Ottawa to compel the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)\u00a0and\u00a0Finance Canada\u00a0to collect billions of dollars in taxes owed by Driver Inc companies \u2013\u00a0revenue the government should be investing in the economy and using to improve Canada\u2019s healthcare system.\u00a0Relatedly, CTA also reminded the five provinces with Employer Health Taxes (EHT) that Driver Inc companies are directly undercutting the provincial medical system by not paying the employer tax.<\/p>\n
\u201cCTA is asking finance ministers across Canada to take leadership roles and show these unscrupulous companies that cheat the system that the Canada Labour Code, and federal and provincial tax compliance obligations are not optional in this country \u2013 it\u2019s the law,\u201d said CTA president Stephen Laskowski, who urged provinces with employer health taxes to dedicate enforcement resources towards the Driver Inc carrier community. \u201cThere are at least tens of millions of dollars in unpaid EHT that are robbing our society and citizens of better health care.\u201d<\/p>\n
CTA conservatively estimates there are 50,000 drivers involved in this scheme in provinces with EHTs. This means that non-compliance in the trucking sector alone robs between $46 million and $160 million\u00a0a year from health care systems and other critical programs. \u201cWhen also considering the evasion of payroll and personal taxes, as Driver Inc carriers often do, the financial loss to our citizens is in the billions,\u201d says Laskowski.<\/p>\n
CTA informed the ministers\u00a0that enforcement by\u00a0the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)\u00a0in Ontario has\u00a0found close to\u00a0200 Driver Inc\u00a0non-compliant Driver Inc carriers, resulting\u00a0in nearly $10 million in corrective adjustments annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot think of a\u00a0bigger threat from\u00a0the underground economy to our social network than the existence and growth of Driver Inc,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
CTA also used the opportunity to reaffirm the sector\u2019s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint\u00a0while reminding the finance ministers<\/a><\/u>\u00a0that because there is no suitable substitution for the diesel engine and a lack of viable alternate fuel and engine options in the heavy-duty truck market, the federal carbon tax serves no policy outcome and only results in higher fuel costs and inflation throughout the supply chain.<\/p>\n \u201cTo implement a carbon tax on diesel fuel\u00a0meant to\u00a0incentivize\u00a0our members to switch to non-diesel engine\u00a0alternatives\u00a0is both unfair and unrealistic and serves no purpose other than contributing to higher inflation for everyone,\u201d says Laskowski.<\/p>\n