The Port Transportation Association (PTA) held a second rally on July 21, to protest the new container trucking service requirements in the Lower Mainland of B.C.

The association believes the new rules will harm smaller and medium drayage companies operating in the area since it would prohibit many operators from “doing business with themselves” as the new requirements prevent licensed trucking companies from using their subsidiary or associated non-licensed companies to perform off-dock work.

Tom Johnson, a PTA spokesperson, said more than 160 trucks — some with trailers attached — participated in the Sunday rally, which started at 11:30 a.m. at Annacis Island and traveled to Vancouver’s downtown core and back.

“The lineup was all the way to the Ninth Street Bridge,” said Johnson.

Changes come into effect in November

As per the report published by the Office of the British Columbia Container Trucking Commissioner (OBCCTC) on May 2, to renew their truck tags (licences to haul containers to and from the port) in November, licensees “must not enter into an agreement, arrangement or understanding” to perform on- or off-dock trucking services with any non-licence holders, who perform off-dock drayage work in the Lower Mainland.

Commissioner Glen MacInnes says that the decision was made to close loopholes in the Container Trucking Act for “shadow companies” that have been using them to bypass regulated wage standards for truck drivers hauling the port’s containers. 

“An extensive industry consultation process preceded the CTS license amendments, whereby all stakeholder submissions – including PTA’s – were carefully considered. These amendments ensure that drivers are paid regulated rates by closing the opportunities for gamesmanship,” his office wrote in an email to TruckNews.com.

“The current application process provides existing licence holders priority for truck tags based in part on their compliance history. On Dec. 1, 2024, the industry will continue to need the same number of drivers to perform the same number of container moves within the Lower Mainland.”

At the time of the application for a license for December 2024 – November 2026, applicants will be required to sign a Statutory Declaration stating they have not undertaken any activities that are in contravention of the Container Trucking Act.

“To have one unelected individual tell us if we’re in business or not is absolutely insane.”

Tom Johnson

However, the PTA — which says it represents more than half of the approximate 1,600 currently issued tags — believes the good actors representing most of the industry will bear the consequences of these regulations, as many drivers rely on both types of work for stable income, and companies, meanwhile, have leases and equipment to pay for.  

“[But] us trying to rally to change his mind is not going to help us. What we need is for the NDP government to step in and amend the act to curtail some of the powers that he has. And that’s the only way that this is going to stop,” Johnson said. “This is the big issue that we’re facing. We’ve all invested millions of dollars, and we have leases on properties and so on and so forth. And to have one unelected individual tell us if we’re in business or not is absolutely insane.

“What he’s actually done that’s different than other commissioners – he has developed a score system, [as] he calls it. None of us know what that score is, [but] he’s going to give you points based on your compliance history… he said the score system was in place in 2020, and we’re saying, ‘No, no, no, it wasn’t.'”

PTA takes issue to the transport ministry

When the PTA held the first rally on May 5, it demanded a meeting with B.C. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming.

Johnson said the association has met with the minister since then, but it did not lead to the desired results.

“I could tell by the look on his face, he was going through the channels and listening to us,” he observed. “Now, what we had said to him is that we wanted him to provide us with the contact with his office so that we can, you know, communicate, going back and forth on challenges and the big issues that we’re facing. And then he just reverted us right back to the liaison that they have.”

He adds that Fleming’s announcement that he would not be seeking re-election and would be stepping down from his role as transport and infrastructure minister in October followed shortly after the meeting.

The PTA calls on the B.C. NDP party to step in and address the issue by reassessing the new licensing demands and commissioner’s powers within the Act.

“We understand this is a provincial issue, but it’s also a federal issue. It bleeds into federal [problem] because these guys are affecting Canada’s supply chain.

“At the end of the day, we really need the NDP to come to the table, and we’re not asking much. We just want drivers, you know, to sleep at night from here to December on,” said Johnson. “It’s a long few months to wonder, and it’s not right putting people in those positions.”