CALGARY, Alta. – Alberta Transportation has announced the province is delaying introduction of new North American cargo securement regulations, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2005.

Alberta joins Quebec in delaying the regulations, which are already in effect south of the border.

Quebec has announced it will introduce the new standards as of March whereas Alberta says the new regulations will be adopted there in February at the earliest.

“Further to the implementation of the new North American Cargo Securement Standard it is anticipated that the regulation adopting the CCMTA standard will not be passed in Alberta until February, 2005 at the earliest.

“Other jurisdictions in Canada have agreed to adopt the standard for January 1, with the exception of Quebec which is adopting in March. The U.S. has had the standard in place since January 2004,” Alberta Transportation announced recently.

“All Canadian jurisdictions have agreed to implement an educational period until July 2005 where technical violations of the standard may be dealt with in an advisory manner by enforcement personnel.

“However, during that period load security violations that pose a safety risk may still lead to fines or court appearances.”

Meanwhile, the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) continues to offer “teach the trainer”courses on the new load securement regulations.

The two-day courses include the 13 modules from the training provided by the Canadian Council of Motor Carrier Administrators (CCMTA).

For more information, call the AMTA at 403-214-3425.