As Canada’s only national association representing the views and interests of private carriers since 1977, the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, its directors and members have been working hard to increase the value, education and networking opportunities available to our members – both current and future.

Our annual conference in June has long been regarded as one of the best educational and networking events in the industry, and this past year’s record attendance would indicate the word is spreading even further. With this in mind – and indications being that education and networking rank among the top values members hope to gain from our association – we have been working on plans to host more educational seminars throughout the year.

The first of these seminars will take place in Truro, N.S. on Sept. 16. This is a joint seminar being held with the Trucking Human Resources Sector Council Atlantic. This 4.5-hour seminar will include insight from labour lawyer Kimberley D. Pochini, who will present on understanding our responsibilities as leaders. She will present on the complexities of dealing with mental illness in the workplace, including the applicable legislation, the duty to accommodate, an employer’s right to medical information, recent legal cases as well as available resources for employers.

Following this seminar will be the topic of Medical Marijuana and the Workplace, presented by Dr. Barry Kurtzer, a physician with more than 30 years of experience providing occupational health programs to employers.

This session will cover: How Canada’s federal medical marijuana regulatory changes could impact the transportation industry; medical qualification to drive issues as per the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA); the health benefits and risks of using medical marijuana, including the effect of medical marijuana on driving and workplace safety; unique considerations (including case examples) of workers in safety-sensitive jobs who use medical marijuana; and the game plan for employers, including considerations around policy, supervisor training, and job physical demands analysis/safety impact evaluations.

Attendance for this seminar is free for private fleets, however you must register to attend as space is limited.

The second in our seminar series will take place on Oct. 22 in Mississauga, Ont., and will include the aforementioned medical marijuana seminar, again presented by Driver Check and Dr. Kurtzer. This event will also include a private fleet issues roundtable featuring three prominent private fleet managers. This session will be monitored by John G Smith. The cost to attend is only $25 for PMTC members, and $100 for non-members.

Our third seminar series will take place on Jan. 13 in Mississauga, from 9 to 11 a.m. At this seminar the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario will do an in-depth presentation and overview on Ontario’s CVOR Program.

Senior MTO officials will also answer questions in an open forum at the conclusion, and address other topical information at the time of the seminar. The cost to attend this seminar will also be $25 for PMTC members, and $100 for non-members.

The PMTC has also recently announced two educational scholarship programs for members.

The Young Leaders Education Bursary will provide over $1,300 in funding for two eligible PMTC members, starting with our 2016 conference.

The money will fund two of the four courses needed for students to complete the PMTC Logistics Management Graduate Program, which includes four selected courses from the CITT program of study.

Our second recent funding announcement is called the PMTC Professional Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Training Scholarship. Through a partnership with KRTS, we will be able to offer, for one qualified PMTC member per year, a full PTDI- and TTSAO-certified training curriculum, which will help a student emerge with the skills and confidence necessary to enter the professional driving field with a mandatory entry level of training. The cost of the entire training program will be funded by the PMTC, KRTS and its partners.

Over the last few months, the PMTC has added many value-added products and services at member-only discounted rates, to supplement some of the value-added services that were already in place.

Some examples are: TTSAO providing NRCan Smart Driver fuel-efficiency training to PMTC members; MEE (Making Eligibility Easier) making its online driver profile and eligibility program service to PMTC members at preferred rates; an OHS insider newsletter provided to PMTC members at significantly reduced rates; PMTC online driver’s academy, powered by CarriersEdge and KRTS; PMTC member pricing for industry-leading online transportation-specific training courses; reduced pricing for drug and alcohol testing and programs provided by Driver Check; and a soon-to-be-announced PMTC nationwide driver’s licence verification checks, powered by VerX Direct, at special PMTC member prices.

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Mike Millian is president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, the only national association that represents the views and interests of the private fleet industry. He can be reached at trucks@pmtc.ca.