OTTAWA, Ont. — In its official comments on Environment Canada’s proposed greenhouse gas emission regulations, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) lauded regulators for mirroring the US legislation but said more could be done in Canada.

“Harmonized greenhouse gas regulations governing powered equipment in North America makes sense for our sector, especially with so many fleets doing businesses in the United States and with most equipment being manufactured south of the border,” said CTA senior vice-president Stephen Laskowski. “CTA used this opportunity to remind Environment Canada that compliance options not included in the EPA regulation may still be viable options for inclusion in the Canadian regulation as long as they do not create competitive disadvantages for Canadian fleets or suppliers.”

The CTA would have liked to see Environment Canada include automatic transmissions as one of the technologies considered under the program.

“It appears that Environment Canada sees merit in automatic transmissions, which now represent up to 50% of new heavy vehicles sold, but is unwilling to consider it as a compliance option solely because the US isn’t,” said Laskowski.

However, the CTA welcomed language in the regulation that indicated Canadian carriers would not be placed at a competitive disadvantage as a result of the US-based rules, despite differences in weights and dimensions.

Environment Canada reported: “Canadian manufacturers will not be disadvantaged compared to US manufacturers due to the higher average payloads in Canada.”

The CTA also noted that Environment Canada was silent about its plans following the 2018 standard, while in the US it was clear that a new regulatory system will be introduced that will include trailers. CTA would rather see some discussion about Canadians plans for 2018 and beyond sooner than later.

“The 2014-2018 regulation of GHG emissions from Class 8 trucks may pose challenges for manufacturers as it relates to managing sales to qualify for imposed emission targets. However, the real cost and technology challenges for the trucking industry appear to be based on EPA statements post-2018. CTA believes that government and the industry must begin working on challenges including trailer and engine design today to avoid unnecessary burdens being placed on the trucking sector in the future,” said Laskowski.

The CTA also continued its push for financial incentive that would encourage fleets to adopt GHG-friendly equipment and help offset its higher purchase price.

“Unlike the air quality regulations, these GHG standards will not specify required equipment for all heavy trucks sold over the 2014-2018 period. CTA believes the tax system, just as it is used in the manufacturing sector, should be utilized to introduce incentives to encourage the carrier community to purchase greener trucks. This system works well in the manufacturing community and we see no reason why these same incentives should not be introduced into our sector,” Laskowski said.