After months of investigation, the Toronto Star’s much anticipated feature report on Driver Inc. and truck driver abuse was published on the front page of the features section on Sunday and highlighted on the news outlet’s website and social media.
The article centred on abuse and harassment of truck drivers by unscrupulous carriers who withhold wages, benefits, vacation pay etc., while misclassifying employee drivers as contractors.
However, beyond the ‘abuse’ angle, the article is the most in-depth piece of journalism ever to highlight the “billion-dollar scam … known as Driver Inc.” More than any article previously published on the issue, it does an excellent job of explaining the illegalities of the Driver Inc. system in the underground economy and connects the dots between tax avoidance, labour abuse and “shoddy” safety practices.
Perhaps, most importantly, the article points how some governments and agencies aren’t doing enough to end the practice and mentions CRA in particular. Specifically, the article quotes one alleged Driver Inc. operator who insists he’s by the book because CRA “never raised any questions” about his business model.
The author interviewed dozens of trucking companies for the article, including CTA carrier members and CTA staff.
CTA strongly urges provincial associations and board members to share the article with local MPs, MPPs, government policy contacts in a variety of departments, as well as customers in the supply chain.
The article can be accessed online here for Toronto Star subscribers. We included a PDF copy for sharing via email here: truckers fight against billion dollar scam-Star_public