The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is urging the province to ramp up truck enforcement under Operation Deterrence, in response to an increase of U.S. tariffs against Canada.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced an increase of tariffs on non-CUSMA-covered goods to 35% and cited ongoing concerns over drug trafficking and immigration issues.
“OTA advocated for the creation of initiatives like Operation Deterrence as an immediate response to Washington’s concerns about border security between Canada and several US states,” said OTA chairman Mark Bylsma. “Operation Deterrence yielded good results and increased the presence of enforcement to and from our border crossings. We strongly feel now is the time for government and authorities in Ontario to keep their foot on the accelerator in addressing Washington’s concerns. Our economy needs it; our sector needs it – now more than ever.”
So far the initiative involved more than 48,400 inspections in the first quarter, with about 22,500 non-compliance issues discovered. That’s a rate of about 46 issues per 100 inspections for Ontario-plated carriers, but rates were higher for out-of-province carriers (50 issues per 100 inspections) and carriers plated outside of Canada (53 issues per 100 inspections).
Of those, 4,254 violations were out-of-service defects, led by: cargo securement violations; damaged air brake supply lines; inoperative brake lights; flat or leaking tires; and inoperative rear turn signals, the OTA reported.
“OTA commends the efforts of the Minister of Transportation, the Solicitor General and their collective teams for tackling these border security challenges head-on with Operation Deterrence,” said OTA’s senior vice-president of policy, Geoff Wood. “However, we clearly need to do more.”
The association wants to see truck inspection stations in key locations staffed 24/7, for example. It’s also calling for employment agencies like ESDC and Canada Revenue Agency to be involved in enforcement of labor laws.
The association says it has been in talks with U.S. officials who noted Ontario-based truck drivers seeking U.S. visas often report earning one-third of normal industry wages. In a release, the OTA said it’s likely that hundreds of trucks a day cross into the U.S. from Canada with drivers working under slave labor-type conditions
“Our industry has become overrun in the last decade by non-compliant activity and a lack of enforcement that have put a huge strain on the ability for law abiding carriers to maintain operations,” said Wood. “This latest tariff escalation, and the underlying issues that triggered it, is linked to the underground economy and criminal element infecting the Canadian trucking industry and should be a wakeup call for governments to reinforce their efforts to clean up our sector on all fronts. Our industry is in crisis and fixing it can alleviate some of the factors at the root of this ongoing trade war.”
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