OTTAWA (Nov. 20, 2002) — The Canadian Trucking Alliance said yesterday that it has been assured that the trucking industry will have the chance to weigh in on the impact ratification of the Kyoto Protocol would have on motor carriers.

In a letter to CTA president David Bradley, federal environment minister David Anderson said the association should “be assured that consultations with the trucking sector will take place before any significant steps are taken that could affect (the trucking) industry.”

Anderson supports ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, in which Canada agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 6 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.

In his letter, the CTA said Anderson acknowledged the lobby group’s desire for equitable measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and not to create policies that favour one mode over others. He added that the government is considering regulatory action that would align Canadian standards with U.S. emission standards for railway locomotives.

“I hope the message is starting to get through in Ottawa that the GHG problem is not going to be solved on the back of the trucking industry,” said Bradley, “and that when it comes to reducing emissions, including those that cause smog and are related to respiratory disease, the trucking industry is way out front of the other modes.”