Officials will also address multiple interprovincial trade barrier issues
The Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety (COMT) agreed at a meeting this week to action two items strongly championed by the Canadian Trucking Alliance
The ministers agreed to act collaboratively to combat non-compliance with labour, tax and safety rules in the commercial trucking industry associated with the Driver Inc. model. Additionally, they agreed to sign-off on 14 key solutions to inter-provincial trade barriers in the coming weeks.
The news came as federal transport minister Steven MacKinnon, and COMT co-chair Mike Farnworth, also Minister of Transportation and Transit for British Columbia, concluded the meeting in Vancouver this week.
“CTA has been active on this file for a very long time and the acknowledgement by all ministers that Driver Inc. is real and must be dealt with is helpful,” said Geoff Wood, CTA’s Sr. VP Policy. “However, the proof will be in the actual efforts put forth across the country to get rid of Driver Inc. Everyone must be all in.”
The commitment to coordinated federal, provincial, and territorial action, including improved enforcement, training, and licensing for the trucking industry, reflects the message the CTA delivered throughout the House of Commons Standing Committee’s review of Driver Inc., as well as the key deliverables discussed by CTA members at the Trucking Hackathon hosted by Transport Canada’s Deputy Ministers this past summer, where all provincial and territorial deputies were present and actively engaged.
Meanwhile, most governments have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding on interprovincial/territorial trucking, covering 14 measures.
“It is understood that progress is being made towards finalizing the approvals from all jurisdictions in the coming weeks and then sharing the details of the MoU. We look forward to the details and seeing the agreements implemented,” said Wood.
CTA flagged several issues in its interprovincial trade barriers report in 2023 and again in 2025 based on input from carriers from across the country. Having those addressed will mean progress for the industry.
Also notable, the federal minister and provincial and territorial ministers stressed the importance of substantial, long-term, predictable, and flexible federal infrastructure funding. The financial support from the federal government is vital and sends a strong message that the federal government is committed to supporting interprovincial trucking.
CTA will continue to work with the necessary federal departments, the Council of Ministers, the Deputy Ministers, along with its Secretariat, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), and the Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Policy to help ensure the ministers’ commitments and the interprovincial MoU are operationalized.
For complete details from the Council’s announcement, please click here.
