Quebec groups ramp up war against Driver Inc.

The Quebec Trucking Association (QTA), the Association des professionnels du dépannage du Québec (APDQ) and Teamsters Canada held a joint press conference this week in Montreal to question Premier François Legault about the Driver Inc. scheme.

They say it is becoming increasingly rampant in Quebec and, in addition to depriving the government of billions of dollars in payroll taxes, represents a threat to road safety in the province.

“More and more fraudsters are carrying out their illegal activities with impunity in Quebec. They jeopardize not only the economic health of our businesses, but also the safety of road users. The Legault government must act more quickly and decisively in this matter of public interest,” said QTA CEO Marc Cadieux.

He pointed out that a survey of QTA members revealed that 79% of them had seen their sales decline as a result of the Driver Inc. scheme, and that a third of the companies surveyed had to lay off staff as a result.

“There is an urgent need to act to protect our companies and the Quebec workers who, with fervor and commitment, carry out jobs that are essential to the economic activity of our country and our province,” said Cadieux, adding that shippers must also be made aware of the existence of the scheme, and must be responsible in choosing their carriers.

$1.5 million in unpaid breakdowns

Tow truck companies are suffering collateral damage from the Driver Inc. scheme, according to APDQ president Réjean Breton, who revealed some disturbing figures.

Over the past 11 months in Quebec, the financial losses of companies that have had to deal with the towing of trucks belonging to Driver Inc. companies amount to more than $1.5 million, according to information gathered from 18 of the APDQ’s 385 members.

(Source: APDQ)

“Tow truck companies in Quebec are an operational continuity of police forces. When a vehicle breaks down, gets stuck or is involved in a collision, once law enforcement officers have done their job, a tow truck is called to recover the vehicle. However, over the past few years, and especially over the past few months, when it comes time to pay the bill, in the case of many Driver Inc. vehicles, they don’t want to pay, they don’t have any money on them, whether it’s the driver or the so-called owner in Ontario,” explained Breton.

When a tow truck company signs a Memorandum of Understanding with a police force, it is obliged to tow any type of vehicle at the request of the police. When they arrive on the scene, they have to clear the vehicle, they have to go to the next exit and try to get paid. “Sometimes completing the recovery of a vehicle can take two hours, but we often find that payment can take six hours, seven hours, eight hours, if payment is made at all,” added Breton.

“Tow truck companies will not be able to continue to carry out this type of vehicle recovery, at the request of a peace officer, without being paid. The APDQ is asking the government to set up a payment guarantee mechanism, which already exists in Ontario.

“The government calls us via a police force to recover a vehicle. Since it’s the government that’s asking us to recover a vehicle from the public network, we’re asking the government for the necessary payment guarantee so that we can continue to serve the police forces in Quebec and ensure that the roads are kept clear. We’re asking Mr. Legault to guarantee payment of every invoice for which police forces have called on us.”

Jean Chartrand, special advisor to the Teamsters Union, made it clear that the workers caught up in the Driver inc. scheme are trapped in a “system of exploitation, pure and simple. It’s not the trucker as such we’re targeting, it’s the employers who misinform these workers”.

Chartrand denounced the unfair competition created by Driver Inc. companies, indicating legitimate employers are no longer able to compete in the market, with inevitable repercussions for both unionized and non-unionized truckers. He urges the governments of Quebec and Ontario to unite against the scheme, which he said has caused a number of job losses in recent months.

“We can’t watch the parade pass by and watch our workers lose their jobs without reacting,” he said.