“When you are on a LMIA work permit you have to deal with shit!”

That’s how truck drivers described the potentially deadly, unsafe and toxic working conditions they endured as unscrupulous trucking company owners allegedly exploited them using Canada’s labor market impact assessment (LMIA) program.

Two drivers — whose names have been withheld for fear of retribution, including deportation — claim they were ordered to work without resets stipulated by Hours-of-Service rules by using other drivers’ logins on the electronic logging device (ELD).

The men told TruckNews.com they were forced to drive when injured, sick and exhausted with lack of sleep and rest. They say they were coerced into breaking cabotage rules in the U.S and driving unsafe vehicles. They had wages deducted and were not paid for layovers, pickups and drops.

When an employer in Canada is unable to find an employee – a Canadian or permanent resident – with a certain skill set for their business, they can file an LMIA application with Employment and Social Development Canada to hire a foreign worker. Workers should not have to pay for the LMIA. 

Driver paid thousands of dollars for LMIA

However, “Moe” paid thousands of dollars to two trucking companies for an LMIA, based on which he could work as a truck driver and stay in Canada, as time on his student visa-linked work permit was running out.

A trucking company owner in Brampton, Ont., demanded $20,000. Moe gave him $7,000. He was paid 24 cents a mile working as a longhaul driver, hauling loads from Ontario to New Brunswick, Manitoba and Alberta.

Needing to boost his earnings, Moe sought work with a Surrey, B.C.-based carrier. The company owner demanded $5,000 for an LMIA. Moe paid and began working for 28 cents a mile as a longhaul driver, with a promise that pay would increase every three months.

Carriers demand $40,000

Moe’s buddy “Sam” – a former student on a work permit – was also looking for an LMIA to help extend his stay in Canada. Sam claimed trucking companies in Brampton were demanding $30,000 to $40,000.

When Moe told him about his company’s $5,000 “fee,” Sam decided to test the waters. He contacted the company owner, who immediately upped the LMIA charges to $10,000. Sam told the owner that he didn’t need an LMIA at the moment. He was hired as a longhaul team driver and agreed to haul freight for 28 cents a mile.

Pressure on driver

He and Moe began working as team drivers and working conditions soon turned sour. They say the company owner kept pressuring Sam to pay $2,000, saying the LMIA was ready, but he refused to cave in.

The owner stopped paying for layovers, which sometimes lasted for days. The company would issue a pay statement to Moe with the miles completed outlining the amount owed to him. Then, a pay stub with a lesser amount would be deposited into his bank account.

Sam and Moe said miles completed were not calculated from pick-up to drop-off, but from a major city or town to another. The drivers said they delivered freight away from the city on numerous occasions and the extra miles were not added to their wages.

The drivers said they were ordered to break cabotage rules in the U.S. Canadian carriers are prohibited from engaging in moving freight from point to point within the U.S. They said the company threatened to withhold their wages if they refused. They also allege the company provided a fake bill of lading, showing only multiple drops in the U.S. while they moved freight from state to state within that country.

Sam and Moe said on numerous occasions when due for a reset after their 70-hour clocks ran out, they were told to keep driving. They said the company owner provided other drivers’ ELD logins and sometimes his own, so they could continue hauling freight beyond legally allowable hours.

Moe recalled an incident in which he was driving a truck with a rebuilt engine that was leaking diesel. He was hauling freight from Ontario to B.C. The engine began smoking near North Bay, Ont., he recalls.

Driving unsafe vehicles

He was told to pour water on the engine and continue west to Edmonton, where it would be serviced. He did so and kept going. Then the coolant began draining. The solution offered was to fill the container with water.

In Regina, when the dashboard started to light up with warning messages, the owner asked him to use an override button and continue. The truck broke down in Lloydminster, Alta. Moe paid $800 for the service call and the owner did not reimburse him. He also paid for a flight back to Toronto.

Moe recalled that before Sam and he drove as a team, he’d injured his left arm while shutting a trailer door in B.C. His teammate at the time told him he’d have to continue driving. Moe said he drove two 12-hour shifts mostly one-handed with a badly bruised and painful left arm.

After completing the trip, he informed the company that he would need time to recover. He was told that since he was on an LMIA work permit he’d have to get back to work. He hauled a load from Ontario to Montreal and back while injured.

Working through injury

A few months ago, during a trip from Vancouver, B.C., to Ontario, Moe fell from the truck and injured his arm during a shift change. Sam had just completed his 12-hour shift. Sam called the company owner describing the situation. He said he didn’t inquire about Moe’s condition but instead began abusing him. He ordered Sam to continue driving on Moe’s clock to deliver the load.

Sam drove another 12 hours and delivered the load. They then went to a hospital at 2 a.m. so that Moe could be treated. Since the company did not provide insurance, Moe paid out of pocket for the treatment.

For Moe and Sam, this was the final straw, and they began looking for another employer.

The silver lining

For the past two months they have been employed by a Mississauga, Ont.-based trucking company. “They don’t ask for money for an LMIA, they are nice people,” a beaming Moe said.

They are now paid properly, get layover pay, pick-up and drop-off payments, days off and receive health and insurance coverage. “This is something new for us,” Moe added. “The difference is like night and day.”

Sam recently received an invitation to become a permanent resident and is looking forward to settling into his trucking career. Moe is in the immigration pool, hoping for a similar invitation. For many others, there is no silver lining to their cloud of exploitation and misery.