Ontario tractor-trailer apprenticeship program, tax credits in question

TORONTO, Ont. – Ontario’s decision to dissolve the province’s College of Trades has placed a voluntary apprenticeship program for tractor-trailer drivers in limbo, with some fleets now wondering about the future of tax benefits for apprentices they helped to train.

UPDATED: Diesel prices rise, carbon tax questions remain

TORONTO, Ont. -- Federal carbon taxes were tacked onto fuel prices in four provinces April 1 – and they came with the threat of a $2,000 fine for affected carriers who failed to register with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Ontario’s mandatory driver training continues to evolve

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – About 10,500 would-be truck drivers have passed through Ontario’s mandatory entry-level training (MELT) program, but the province’s transportation ministry is still learning lessons along the way.

Humboldt crash driver had 70 violations in 11 days

MELFORT, Sask. — Documents presented at the sentencing hearing of Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the truck driver who pleaded guilty to causing the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, show he had committed…

National truck driver training standard is in the works, but will it be mandatory?

MONTREAL, Que. – Canada’s federal government is committing to introduce a national truck driver training standard by January 2020, but it will still be up to individual provinces and territories to decide whether that training is mandatory.

Distracted driving fines and penalties on the rise

Ontario is the latest jurisdiction to increase penalties associated with distracted driving. TORONTO, Ont. – Ontario has become the latest province to increase fines and other penalties associated with distracted…

Trucking’s Newsmakers of 2018

TORONTO, Ont. – A new year is on the horizon. Given that, we thought it was a good time to choose the trucking industry’s Top 10 Newsmakers of 2018.

Stay right, chain up, slow down in B.C.

KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- Bad weather has been known to wreak havoc on B.C. Coquihalla Highway’s Snowshed Hill, but the province hopes to keep traffic flowing with the help of a pilot project than bans hill-climbing trucks from the left lane between Box Canyon and Zopkios. And that’s only one change among a series of recent measures to improve highway safety throughout B.C.’s mountainous interior.

Paez tackles the Olympian challenge of cross-border trucking

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Crossing an international border can seem like an Olympian task at the best of times, with challenges ranging from ever-changing regulations to the search for backhauls.

‘ELDs are here to stay’

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Electronic logging devices (ELDs) are now the law in the U.S., and Canada is approaching ever closer to a mandate of its own. Major device suppliers are meeting in Toronto this week to explore a uniquely Canadian approach to certifying the equipment.

Continental Divide: The differences between European and North American trucks

TORONTO, Ont. -- The manufacturers of North American and European trucks are more closely aligned than ever. But as close as the companies have drawn together, the equipment itself can appear a world apart. Different regulations are just one reason.

Feds commit to cleaning up Driver Inc.

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The federal government is looking to stop employers from misclassifying employees as a way to avoid source deductions or other labor obligations – a process the trucking industry has come to know as Driver Inc.

Spear goes on offensive in ATA address

AUSTIN, Texas – American Trucking Associations president and CEO Chris Spear went on the offensive during his annual state of the industry address today, calling for changes to everything from minimum driving ages to new drug testing tools and a massive infrastructure investment.

North American fleets head into the weed(s)

AUSTIN, Texas – North America’s trucking industry finds itself in the midst of a growing drug problem. The same marijuana being legalized across Canada and select U.S. states is still banned by the federal government in the U.S. What remains is a legal quagmire, and carriers are still trying to determine what the details all mean.

Drivers face tougher tests with legal marijuana

MILTON, Ont. – Cross-border truck drivers who already face drug screening are not the only ones who face restrictions under Canada’s new framework for legalized recreational marijuana. Impaired driving rules have been refined at federal and provincial levels, said Alex Bugeya of Frontline Commercial Vehicle Solutions, during a presentation hosted by the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC).