Mike McCarron is president of Rite Route Supply Chain Solutions and a partner in Left Lane Associates. You can reach Mike at mike@riteroute.ca
From all accounts coming out of last month’s Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) board meeting, the driver contractor issue is finally getting the attention it deserves. With Driver Inc. on the agenda, the alliance brought Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to the table and the government said it’s serious about nailing culprits who are not paying their fair share of taxes or forming sham companies for drivers who have no clue what they are signing up for.
I was disappointed when I read headlines about the “Indian” driver who was criminally charged for the horrific Saskatchewan accident that involved the Humboldt Broncos’ team bus. If guilty he should face justice, but I’m not sure where he was born has anything to do with it. I’m guessing if the driver were Italian it would not have been mentioned.
Like many of you, I was devastated when my two passions—hockey and trucking—collided tragically on April 7 outside of Tisdale, Sask. I was also embarrassed and angry. Embarrassed because the trucking industry I’ve defended at every dinner party for 35 years was somehow responsible for the senseless loss of 16 lives.
For years, I’ve been chuckling under my breath at transportation conferences whenever I hear shippers speak about how important it is to be “good business partners” with their carriers. Experience has shown me that once they walk off the stage, their actions tell another story. The “win-win” rhetoric gives way to “we win, you lose” when it comes time to work on a contract. That’s starting to change.
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