The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is calling on Ontario and Quebec to develop a coordinated approach to commercial driver licensing and carrier oversight, warning that unilateral measures will simply push bad actors across provincial borders.
The appeal comes days after Quebec announced that Ontario Class A license holders with less than two years of experience who move to Quebec must pass a practical road test before exchanging their license.
OTA Chairman Mark Bylsma said the association supports Quebec’s objective of improving highway safety and agrees that Ontario’s commercial driver licensing system has significant shortcomings.
“We acknowledge there are significant flaws and critical vulnerabilities in Ontario’s current licensing, training, and carrier oversight systems, which the OTA, safety stakeholders and Ontario’s Auditor General have repeatedly brought to light,” Bylsma said in an OTA statement.
However, he argued that Quebec’s temporary policy risks creating new loopholes.
“An isolated approach creates immediate blind spots. Illicit training operations and ‘chameleon carriers’ will simply shift their licensing logistics to other jurisdictions to bypass these rules, leaving Quebec and Ontario highways exposed to the exact same safety risks.”
The association said problems such as substandard driver training schools, inconsistent carrier oversight, and underground employment models such as Driver Inc. are national issues that require coordinated enforcement.
OTA is proposing a joint strategy involving the Ontario and Quebec governments, as well as the Ontario Trucking Association and Quebec Trucking Association (QTA), which it says could serve as the foundation for a broader national approach.
“The OTA and the ACQ have a proud history of standing shoulder-to-shoulder against predatory actors who compromise highway safety,” Bylsma said. “We want to work closely with our Quebec counterparts to present both Minister Charette and Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria with a synchronized, bi-provincial action plan.”
The association said such a plan should include 24/7 operation of truck inspection stations, modernized carrier risk profiles, and a coordinated crackdown on “chameleon carriers” that exploit differences in provincial regulations.
OTA also reiterated its call for Ontario to temporarily suspend the trucking stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program until a “Known Employer Program” is established to ensure internationally recruited drivers are hired only by vetted, safety-focused carriers.
Quebec announced its new licensing requirement last week following concerns raised by Ontario’s Auditor General about weaknesses in commercial driver training and licensing. The temporary measure requires inexperienced Ontario commercial drivers relocating to Quebec to demonstrate their skills through a road test before receiving a Quebec Class 1 license.
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