CTA heads discussion with Bank of Canada head

by Truck News

TORONTO, Ont. – The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) was among a nine-member coalition of national transportation associations that recently met with Stephen Poloz, governor of the Bank of Canada, and his senior staff.

The coalition outlined five areas of mutual interest to all organizations: the labor shortage; automation; business competitiveness; multimodal strategies; and key infrastructure requirements.

The CTA served as the lead for the discussion.

“All associations agree there are many common areas where federal public policy shifts can greatly benefit blue collar industries like transportation. Today was a wonderful opportunity for our industry and others to highlight how we can make Canada more competitive by addressing the many common opportunities across multiple sectors,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski.

The group also highlighted various transportation projects across Canada that would benefit the economy, as well as the need for Canada’s tax system to be reviewed, particularly as it relates to the controversial Driver Inc. payment model.


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  • ….
    Allow me to express my sublunary point of view .

    Concerning “the labor shortage ” .​

    Q:What are YOU doing to render the truck driving “trade” desirable ? ​
    A: Nothing !​

    Q: Is truck driving a trade ? ​
    A: Of course it is ,however it’s not recognized as such . Why ? Because skilled labour costs more . However, the industry is realizing that unskilled truck drivers end up costing even more than skilled labour . ​

    They have come to the realization that not every Dick & Larry can perform safely without proper skills in the truck driving trade. ​
    And education doesn’t lead to ACUMEN !

    Therefore they have lobbied to create and mandate  “training programs” that truck driving students must follow in order to enter the “trade” as truck drivers . ​

    If the student follows the “training curriculum ” from a certain school according to the lobbied mandate , then the student obtains a recognized diploma and insurance advantages in the form of lower costs due to having obtained the proper “skills” which is considered to decrease some of the risks during their performance in the trade.

    The “student” is now considered to be a “skilled” driver. LOL ! ​

    However, what exactly lead to all this supposed driver shortage and lack of interest to join the truck driving trade ? ​

     1- Extreme low wages for the risks and time put in .​
     2- Lack of trade recognition .​
     3- Abuse ,undignified treatment etc.​
     4- Lack of proper training​
     5-Work conditions​
    6- Demographic shift(transition)

    Carriers who are driven to undercut higher wages lobbied government for immigrant programs and are to blame along with government .​

     Not all from different cultures ,but most are not skilled to perform as truck drivers in the truck driving trade. ​

    People usually obtain their licenses through government regulated schools which simply teach the basics to obtain a government issued license for the privilege to drive ,period .​

     You were not taught how to drive . You were simply taught what the government test required that you need to know in order to obtain a license to drive  . Good “performance” was “expected” upon you having good sense and good judgement based on what one expects a “reasonable” person to have  .​

    The one’s among us who do have good sense and good judgement (acumen)know that this sort of expectation was and still is a grave error . ​

    In conclusion :​

    The turmoil in regards to a lack of safety , and a lack of drivers as well as a lack of skilled drivers is due to the negligence and ignorance of our governments and carriers , not drivers per se .​

    And these Carriers and employers are now meeting with Nobles in an attempt to persuade them about knowing how to render Canada more competitive ??? Now that is HILARIOUS ! ​

    First you should not aim to render a Country more “competitive” . You should aim to render it more “prosperous” . We don’t want to “compete” among one another , we want to help one another evolve and prosper . ​

    And the way you will achieve this is by treating people with dignity and educating them while helping them develop acumen . And I mean really educating them through the means of a renaissance of science and culture .Renaissance humanism ! An intellectual movement !!!​ ​

    A Country’s growth in prosperity comes from a growth in its people’s intellect and its ethical innovative application through acumen  . If you desire “zombies” , then don’t complain , for you have created them . ​

    What the trucking industry has unfortunately managed to do to itself is cause a proverbial “black death” .  And this in and of itself will either oblige them to change their ways or cause their demise . ​

    And if they think for one second that autonomous vehicles will be the cure , then they’re simply fooling themselves for that technology will still be designed by humans !

    In my humble opinion…………..