Trucking industry stakeholders have raised the alarm about an increasing number of companies, schools and drivers in Ontario who do not rise to the minimum professional requirements, and in many cases disregard complying with laws and standards.
A release signed by the Ontario Safety League, Ontario Trucking Association, Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario, Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, Professional Truck Training Alliance of Canada, Teamsters Canada, and Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada says, “It is distressing to admit the standards of safety and compliance are eroding rapidly in our industry.”
The stakeholders believe the Ontario trucking industry is being dominated by carriers whose operating model is built on widespread non-compliance and who have little to no commitment to vehicle and driver safety and the environment.
They have no respect for labor standards and mandates, contempt for employee and contractor classifications, and willfully neglect their obligation as corporate citizens to contribute to Canada’s social systems, the release adds.
Pointing to the shuttering of Humber Polytechnic’s commercial truck driving program, they noted it points to how companies committed to high training and compliance standards are undermined by those who face no consequences for refusing to adhere to the same standards and rules.
An official statement from Humber Polytechnic cited “market conditions”, along with a “significant increase in program delivery costs”, which made the commercial training program “no longer feasible.”
Substandard training
The stakeholders said in the release, “We can read between the lines of this statement and firmly believe the school had no choice to close its doors because it was unable to compete with countless schools that offer substandard training at a fraction of the cost.”
Although most reputable carriers would recognize that drivers coming out of these schools are not road-ready, “the sad truth is there are many others who hurriedly put them in a truck and send them on the highways,” the release said.
The stakeholders said the industry cannot afford to see more high-quality schools close their doors and replaced by those involved in fraudulent and substandard training practices.
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