Sketchy motor carriers looking to reinvent their company rather than address huge safety issues are going to start feeling the heat in Canada if a couple of groups have their way.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance and the Manitoba Trucking Association are sounding the alarm about so-called chameleon carriers following a recent fatal crash.
According to Canadian media reports, a truck driven by Brijpal Panwar, 35, drove through a stop sign at the intersection of Richmond Avenue and Highway 110 in Brandon, Manitoba.
The truck collided with a vehicle, killing a 49-year-old woman, the lone person in that vehicle.
Panwar, who was reportedly driving for a carrier that had its safety fitness certificate revoked by the province of Manitoba in 2021, has been charged with dangerous driving causing death.
This company was able to obtain a new license through the province of Alberta and continue operation, according to a Canadian Trucking Alliance news release.
Unsafe operators stripped of their credentials often resurface under a new name in a neighboring province, CTA said.
“This chameleon carrier phenomenon allows bad actors to blend back into the industry with zero accountability, functioning as a continuous threat to public safety,” Canadian Trucking Alliance President and CEO Stephen Laskowski said. “This tragedy is just the most recent painful reminder of a broken loop in our national safety framework.”
CTA President Demands Immediate Action from Ministers on ‘Chameleon Carriers’ Following Fatal Manitoba Crash:
This carrier had its safety certificate revoked by Manitoba in 2021. Instead of being shut down, they exploited systemic loopholes to become a chameleon carrier. They… pic.twitter.com/5AQ7D2Dv0b— CTA (@CanTruck) May 30, 2026
The Manitoba Trucking Association labeled this incident as preventable.
“In our view, this accident is one that should not have happened, because this company should not exist,” Aaron Dolyniuk, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association, said.
Recent Canadian industry reports examined chameleon carrier and other concerns.
Additionally, federal and provincial transportation officials are set to meet later this year to address other trucking issues.
CTA has gone a step further, developing a plan that they feel addresses current loopholes.
“Our plan enforces strict interprovincial data-sharing and establishes a unified national safety database so non-compliant carriers have nowhere left to hide,” Laskowski. “We do not need more discussion; we need immediate execution. Canadian lives depend on it.”
Major media outlets taking notice
A “60 Minutes” report in April dug into the business practices of one particular chameleon carrier, Super Ego Holding.
Although truck drivers and trucking stakeholders have known about chameleon carriers for decades, “60 Minutes” exposed the widespread problem to the general public.
Super Ego insists that it is an equipment leasing company, not a motor carrier.
“Chameleon carriers have undermined America’s highway safety and damaged the professionalism of the trucking industry by evading enforcement, dodging penalties and reopening under new identities,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in support of the Safety and Accountability in Freight Enforcement (SAFE) Act in February. LL
More Land Line news is available.
Credit: Source link
