It’s no secret that the transportation industry has its challenges. Some of the most pressing include: disconnects between proper education and training; misconceptions about mandatory entry-level training; a lack of jurisdictional authority to effectively audit and establish regulations and compliance measures; and inconsistencies in regulations, to name a few.

The above challenges aren’t localized within a specific region — they occur daily within every province and territory within Canada. I’d like to call some attention to these issues and how we can play a role in resolving them.

Disconnects in education and training

Unfortunately, there is an overwhelming challenge when it comes to the quality of education and training throughout the industry, which directly affects the quality of drivers entering the workforce.

The PMTC’s 2024 Benchmarking Survey indicated 76% of private fleet owners cited driver recruitment as their top issue. The issue is not being able to find drivers, as currently there is no driver shortage in our view. However, finding a qualified driver is more challenging than ever.

We’re seeing an increase in private fleets investing more in mentorship programs to bridge skills gaps, retain drivers, and reduce accidents. We’ve also heard feedback from some in the industry who are hesitant to invest in programs like these because they’re worried about investing time and money into a driver who might leave.

My message to them is simple: Investing in the proper education and training is prudent for the driver, your team, and every person connected to them—on and off the road. As a friend of mine says all the time, “What happens if you don’t train your drivers and they stay?”

Misconceptions about MELT

While on the topic of education and training, we need to adjust how we view the mandatory entry-level training (MELT) program. MELT is an entry-level program – done right, from a proper school, it will equip you with the basic skills and open the door to a career in trucking.

However, the education and training don’t stop there. At the beginning and throughout their careers, drivers need to be provided with the proper education, training, mentorship, and professional development to operate (and evolve with) your fleet’s operations.

To compare: You wouldn’t ask a doctor who just graduated from medical school to perform open heart surgery on their first day on the job. You would first work with them to ensure they’re equipped with the proper training and resources within your hospital. This pivotal step allows them to naturally grow and thrive as professionals within your work environment.

Lack of oversight and enforcement

Our industry is heavily structured by rules and regulations; however, there isn’t enough enforcement around them, which leads to a simple question: What’s the point of having a rule if resources are not applied to ensure it is followed?

For example, in Ontario, roughly 85% of carriers have a satisfactory-unaudited CVOR rating. This means the majority of carriers have never even been looked at to ensure they are following rules and regulations.

Proper enforcement needs to be a top priority – from the highway to fleet offices and throughout all facets of documentation. The PMTC proposes implementing a mandatory third-party audit system that is approved and overseen by the government. Carriers would be audited via this system every two or three years and new carriers would undergo an initial, mandatory audit within their first 12 months of operation.

The auditing system would be funded by carriers using a fee-based structure based on fleet size.

Another issue is the saturated market of truck driving schools that offer entry-level training. There are over 280 schools that offer MELT in Ontario alone; prior to MELT, there were only 80.

Meanwhile, there are only eight auditors overseeing 600 private career colleges across the province (and trucking isn’t even their expertise). The lack of oversight has led to a decline in the quality of training provided to new drivers by too many schools.

Inconsistencies in regulations

In Canada, each province and territory is responsible for enforcing regulations, and how they are enforced is not always consistent. This allows non-compliant carriers to go ‘jurisdiction shopping’ and find loopholes they can easily work around.

Here are two real-life examples of what carriers have done:

More than 200 fleets were found registered to two addresses, one in Dartmouth and one in Halifax, N.S. A check of the addresses showed no trucking operations at either one. This was done to access cheaper insurance and more lenient rules while never actually having any base of operation in the province.

Another carrier got shut down in B.C. for safety violations, however had another fleet set up in Alberta, which enabled it to continue to operate into B.C., bypassing the suspension.

The reality is that there are unsafe, non-compliant carriers bypassing enforcement and operating throughout the country. We need to look closely at what the U.S. is doing – their country uses a centralized, national system that tracks carrier safety and compliance – and follow suit with a standardized system that’s recognized across Canada.

While we recognize Canada is a federation, which will make this difficult to do, at the very least we must ensure that the way each province enforces and audits federally regulated carriers, is done with an agreement to ensure consistency.

The move to make professional truck driving a Red Seal trade in Canada is more pertinent than ever. Our industry needs to have standards in place that raise the bar in education and throughout the workplace. This standard alone will help reshape our industry for a better future on the road.