Canadian truckers are ready for any emergency: CTA

OTTAWA, (March 31, 2004) — During these unpredictable times, Canadians should know that the nation’s truckers are prepared to respond to any emergency or crisis should one arise, says the chief of the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

CTA CEO David Bradley recently met with Minister of State (Civil Preparedness) and Associate Minister of National Defence, Albina Guarnieri, to discuss how the trucking industry could help in planning for and dealing with civic emergency situations. Bradley pointed out the critical role the trucking industry played in delivering much needed food and other supplies during crisis situations like the infamous Ice Storm, the Saguenay and Lake Winnipeg floods, last summer’s the B.C. forest fires, and the power blackout in Ontario.

“I can unequivocally state that should an emergency situation arise in Canada, you need only to call and we will render whatever assistance it is in our power to provide,” Bradley wrote in a subsequent letter to the government. “In fact, that looks after one of the most obvious, critical and often missing elements of an emergency response where trucks are required: ‘Who do we call?'”

Bradley added that, unfortunately, the role of truckers and their services during these emergency situations appeared to be an afterthought. He suggested a few areas that should be considered as part of an emergency response plan, including:

Temporary suspensions of regulations governing such things as driver hours of service and truck weights and dimensions for truckers responding to a particular crisis; establishing a clear chain of command and authority when it comes to clearing accident scenes; arrangements need to be made for trucks/drivers to safely transport supplies into/out of facilities that are under quarantine; and efficient pre-planning of routes into/out of major population centres, as well as police/military escorts for trucks hauling emergency supplies need to be developed.