BCTA holds annual meeting and conference

by James Menzies

PARKSVILLE, B.C. – Attendance was up for this year’s B.C. Trucking Association (BCTA) annual meeting and management conference at the beautiful Tigh-Na-Mara Resort in Parksville.

Nearly 300 delegates attended this year’s event, which ran from June 7-9.

This year’s business sessions revolved around the ever-looming driver shortage and the performance of the B.C. Liberals after their first year in office.

Paul Landry, BCTA president, says attendees put their heads together to try to develop solutions to the impending skills shortage plaguing the trucking industry.

“Business session number one was really designed to provide a high level view of where things are going in the trucking industry from a human resources standpoint, specifically the distinct possibility that we’re going to face a significant shortage in skilled and knowledgeable personnel in all aspects of the business,” says Landry.

“We’re sort of looking into the future and saying, as an industry, what do we have to do to compete in the future and what do we have to do in terms of professionalism, training, compensation and how do we communicate that to people?”

Transportation Minister, Judith Reid, was on-hand to address her government’s perspective on the state of the province’s highway infrastructure system.

Then, popular radio talk show host, Rafe Mair, evaluated the B.C. Liberals’ first year in office, from a transportation perspective.

As always, there was plenty of hardware to be doled out to some of the province’s best performers in the industry.

Kevin Brown, a trucker from Delta, B.C., received a National Transportation Week Bravery Award for his heroic efforts to save a drowning motorist last summer.

Brown dived into the frigid Fraser River in an attempt to free a motorist from his sinking car.

Although he was unable to extricate the motorist from the vehicle, police hailed Brown as a hero, who went above and beyond the call of duty.

The 2001 Volvo Driver of the Year Award was presented to Clifford Byers of Lomak.

Former BCTA chairman, Neil Wooliams, was recognized for his contributions to the association as the BCTA’s Honorary Lifetime Member.

Also recognized for his contributions to the BCTA, was Trailmobile Service to Industry Award winner Jim Beiderwieden.

The annual meeting saw a new board installed complete with several new faces around the table.

The associated trades division will be represented by Linda Slater of TOS Insurance Services and the private fleets division will be headed by Jim White of Brewers Distributor Ltd. of New Westminster.

Meanwhile, the directors at large include: Jim Alden, Hino Diesel Trucks, Burnaby; Wayne Anderson, Shadow Lines, Langley; Jack Bandstra, Bandstra Moving Systems, Richmond; Shub Bawa, Marpole Transport, Delta; Jim Beiderwieden, Inland Kenworth, Langley; Don Benson, Benson Tank Lines, Surrey; Brenda Birtig, City Transfer (1945), Powell River; John Bourbonniere, Yellow Freight System of B.C.,Burnaby; Donald Coe, Glenncoe Transport, Kelowna; Florent Foucher, Excel Transportation, Prince George; Jerry Gallant, Freightliner of Vancouver, Surrey; Clive Gilray, Arrow Transportation Systems, Richmond; Patrick Heale, B.C. Ready-Mixed Concrete Association, Langley; Steve Islaub, Vedder Transport, Abbotsford; Dietmar Krause, TMS Transportation Management Services, Surrey; Wayne Lamontagne, Cobra Trucking, Duncan; Hanne Madsen, DanFoss Couriers, Delta; Greg Munden, Munden Ventures, Kamloops; Eric Oostindie, Trend Transport, Richmond; Andre L.J. Ouellette, West Rim Express Lines, Surrey; Greg Rogge, Reimer Express Lines, Burnaby; Clarence Rohatensky, Northwest Tank Lines, Langley; Murray Scadeng,Triton Transport,Langley; Tim Seward, Martin Brower of Canada, New Westminster; Bob Simpson, Team Transport Services, Richmond; Jim Storie, The Vancouver Trolley Company, Vancouver; Ret Tinning, Berry & Smith Trucking, Penticton; Rob Weston, Mercury Express, Surrey; Ralph Wettstein, Click Express, Burnaby; Tom Williams, Williams Moving & Storage, Coquitlam.


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  • Skill shortage? Oh yes , i hear that their is a skill shortage. What is to be done about it?
    How about we continue to lower wages and import cheap labour to assist in driving down wages.
    Im sure that will entice young people to get into the industry.

    Ive seen adds in vancouver “skilled class1 driver needed $17/hr”
    That wage is sure to draw SKILLED people to the industry.

    17 an hour is a joke for truck driving but the company will apply to the gov’t for temp foreign workers because they can’t find anyone. Where is the bcta?

    I believe companies such as the vedder group are right. Get out of the bcta and set their own path.
    I dont work for vedder but when i see so many truck companies with the bcta or ifta etc tags on them, driving down the standard of living for the drivers. I wonder who the bcta actually works for. Trucking used to be a good income provider , now these fly by the seat of your pants trucking firms are destroying it and were all to happy and willing to see it happen.

    Yeah , im sure skilled workers would line up to get into the industry.
    But thats what foreign labour is all about. Low wages at all costs.

    Fyi at a wage of 17-20 an hour i can work in a warehouse with regular home time and better benefits. Why would i become a driver?

    Im a class 1 driver who has many many years of super b experience all over canada and usa .ive told my son to not follow in my footsteps. Get a trade if you want but keep clear of trucking.