CTOA says racial tensions, targeted enforcement could disrupt supply chain
The Canada Trucking Operators Association (CTOA) is warning that growing driver shortages in the longhaul trucking sector could begin affecting supply chain reliability if workforce pressures persist.
And it says increased racial tension in the industry and what it believes to be targeted enforcement against South Asian carriers could cause more drivers to leave the industry.
The association said member carriers and brokers are reporting driver capacity shortfalls of up to 15%, as fleets struggle to recruit and retain qualified drivers.
CTOA also said workforce retention is being further strained by reports from racialized and newcomer drivers who have experienced racism, online hostility, and concerns about uneven application of enforcement and compliance measures.
New Canadians make up a significant portion of Canada’s trucking workforce, the association noted, and negative industry sentiment or perceived unfair treatment risks discouraging new entrants while accelerating driver attrition.
“If we keep losing drivers, the impact will be felt everywhere,” said Tej Dulat of CTOA in a news release. “Food and essential goods do not move without a stable workforce. When capacity tightens, costs rise and Canadians pay the price.”
The association is calling on federal and provincial governments to work with industry to address workforce shortages, investigate reports of discrimination, and ensure enforcement and compliance processes are applied consistently and fairly.
CTOA added continued labor shortages could strain the movement of essential goods, reduce service reliability, and ultimately increase costs for businesses and consumers.
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There is no shortage, rates to haul freight are not sustainable for compliant carriers. If we all do things the right way, rates will go up and driver pay will increase. Long haul has a turnover issue, especially among fleets who dont pay their drivers properly or treat them correctly. Attention starts to come on some non compliant fleets and we scream racism, classic. I dont care what color, race or religion you are, what I care about is if you are safe, compliant, treat your drivers fairly and comply with your tax obligations. If you are doing all of that you should have zero concern about being audited or having your compliance verified…….
Oh no! The sky might fall if we can’t continue with “business as usual”, like using Driver Inc scams, abusing drivers imported under questionable government programs, operating chameleon carriers, and crying about racial profiling every time there is enforcement. Oh no!
How about cleaning up business practices, ELP education, setting standards instead of lowering them, and not having the default position of playing the victim? Admittedly, the bar is pretty low, but come on people! Do better.
Of course the CTOA is going to complain. Their continued use of Driver Inc (which is ILLEGAL!!!) is what supports their undercutting of the legal operators. Who are they hiring? Mostly immigrant drivers who don’t know their rights. The cases of these drivers being taken advantage are neverending. Multiply the enforcement to eliminate that and there will be drivers available legally as employee’s.
As a small gravel trucking company owner, I see a lot of drivers in various industries on the roads here in B.C. I don’t believe for the most part that racism is a big problem what is a problem is drivers from other countries not being able to speak our language and not being trained properly, and this training is lacking with Canadian born citizens also. These new drivers expect the same wages that experienced competent drivers earn. In many years past new drivers had to spend a lot of time in the cab with a experienced driver at a lower wage rate. Perhaps we should return to this method of driver training.
Here we go again with the mythical driver shortage. That’s the reason this industry is such a mess.
Consider the source of this DIRE WARNING (!). Kicking the can down the road and avoiding the consequences of long-ago (Covid started 6 years ago), BAD decisions has led to the industry mess we have now.
We need more ENFORCEMENT (not less!!!) and an end to the IGNORANCE that all actors treat our roads and our business communities (insurance, safety/inspection compliance, proficiency in one of two OFFICIAL languages) with RESPECT.
TRUST is earned with credibility, good experience and fairness for industry tenure. Last time I checked, decades-long, proven-clean driving record delivered lower rates.
Stop pretending that Public Relations is meaningful action to creating a better trucking industry, long-term.
Perpetrators and engineers (CTOA) of the reality of Trucking in Canada should shut up or demonstrate how they play by the rules that ethical companies operate within, with negative consequences. There has NEVER been a driver shortage! There is absolutely a shortage of Canadian Citizen professional drivers who are willing to work with unethical companies that do not respect them. Why would they? Trucking is tough, and even tougher when you are surrounded by corporate organized crime that the Canadian Government refuses to recognize and end. Can’t find a Canadian Citizen to accept forced labour or work for free; declare a National Emergency and import your fellow countrymen to oppress. Canada has become a country where it is not acceptable to call a spade a spade. People dress it up, call it racism, or allow that spade to self-identify as a cat, and get special treatment, not subject to anyone’s personal view. No wonder this is such a mess! Can we call slave labor what it is? I think not.
Large motor carriers (supposed to be the good guys) are LARGELY to blame here as well. They hire anyone (literally anyone with a license and a heartbeat) to pull their trailers, and when they crash (all so often), the good guy’s carrier record remains unblemished. Those same folks have the government’s ear to pick off the low-hanging fruit while they profit. Still nobody connects the dots.
As an English-fluent Canadian, I absolutely struggle (understatement) to read any road signs once I cross into Quebec. Even the instructions my GPS cries out make little difference in my ability to decipher what I’m hearing from what I’m seeing on the road signs. Yes, I’m educated, and I’m far from the only one who feels this way. Quebec is special, so too bad for me.
Why is it not MANDATORY for all Commercial Drivers in Canada to be able to read and write in English (French folks included), as 95% are? Many professional industries require this, and the one (Trucking) that consistently kills the most citizens does not. Do we need to wait for someone’s politically connected family member to become a victim before change happens? Motor Vehicle Collisions resulting in death are not accidents! They are preventable and predictable! Something as simple as understanding a road sign or communicating with others about a hazard could save a life. Sadly, the right life has yet to be lost.
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Garwinder, you seem to be educated but what’s with you can’t read the signs in Quebec. I don’t speak a word of French and have driven to places in Quebec where they don’t speak any English. I learned early what they called streets, avenues and boulevards. And over the years a few more words and phrases. Maybe you should try to learn a few things for your benefit. Remember you came here, this is not where your from. You left there for a reason, don’t expect things to change because you think you are above your Host country. As for the GPS issue, you sure you know how to use it and is it for commercial truck routing. Last time I saw this was the south asian who hit the bridge and was telling the police that his GPS routed him this way. When the police checked his GPS, he was using Google maps for cars. Just saying
So from what I gather the c t o a is a lobbying group for many south asian owned companies. There are many trucking companies in Canada that have made an art of operating on very thin margins. It has been discovered that many of these companies have the questionable business practices. Such as forcing drivers to incorporate to lessen the tax burden of the owner, there have been reports of having drivers commit cabotage in the U.S. Some companies in canada have elaborate insurerance schemes where they are allowed to piggyback onto the insurance of larger carriers. some of these companies have been accused of using questionable repair facilities in the u.s.To obtain d o t safety’s thus avoiding the more stringent MTO annual inspection protocol. And some of these companies open illegal truck yards on firmland which is not zoned for this use. So that they can avoid paying their real cost associated with that with owning a trucking company. This is a very long-winded way of explaining the negative effect. That these companies have had on the industry. Perhaps many of the theories, a salvage driver’s eye, our leading industry because they are sick of the treatment. They are receiving at the hands of their employers. There are a great number. A very kind hearted, hardworking south asian driver’s that are not being treated fairly by the people we employ them. And to be honest, there definitely is a certain degree of racial tension out here on the road. I also lay the blame for this on the owners of these companies. So there seems to be a real lack of driver etiquette within the south asian driving community. So I believe that these drivers I’ve pushed very hard to meet the deadline and that has created many habit. That is uh very difficult to tolerate. I am not suggesting that this is only a problem with south Asian. The drivers, but what I do know is every time I get past bye. By a truck on the hammer lane of the 401
Nine times out of ten, it appears that the driver it is south asian. The same can be said, for misuse of the fast lane, at border crossings. Every company in canada, it should be doing more to encourage for offer driver etiquette. I am hoping that the government agencies do not cave in to this accusation of racial targeting. If you don’t want to be targeted, come on up here on the level playing field. Get your s*** together and start behaving like a good corporate citizen….. Yes, you may have to raise your rates it’s the cost of doing business.
Here we go again, the “R” word. They get held accountable and thats the first line of defense. It’s getting old people, if you cannot abide by the rules then it’s time for you to go. I feel no sympathy for these Driver Inc. drivers who get their wages stolen. They know what they are doing, cheating the system and then wanting the benefits of that same system. Now there’s a driver shortage, whats next a shortage of legal and compliant trucks?. Cheating is no way to get respect.
The association must understand that their members have to increase rates of pay, offer basic benefits and most important integrate employees into Canadian life. The longer they pay via incorporating staff, the worse outcome for everyone involved in the industry.
Trucking in Canada can’t offer deferential treatment towards a segment of their base any longer.
If there is such a driver shortage, how come rates and wages are not going up. Is there really a driver shortage or are these companies just wanting cheap labour. The training is not there, look at all the accidents on the highways, it seems to be getting worse, trucks are passing at inappropriate times, they are being pushed because they are paid so cheaply. There wouldn’t be this so called driver shortage if drivers showed respect like the old days and companies showed that without drivers they wouldn’t have a trucking company. Raise the standards!!
Again there is a surplus of truck drivers not a shortage. IF want to bring foreign truck drivers for 8 months of the year from April to Dec bring them in from Cuba to a max of 600 drivers and 1500 mechanics and pay a proper wage on payroll. When see truck drivers being offered less than $30 per hour and no medical we have a surplus