OTTAWA — Industry Canada will likely launch a review of the Competition Act and recently invited Canada’s largest carrier group to offer some suggestions.

Representatives from the Canadian Trucking Alliance recently met with the Senior Deputy Commissioner of the Competition Bureau as part of an outreach effort to sectors of the economy it deal with only rarely, says CTA.

CTA indicated that competition in the trucking industry is not only vigorous, but generally fierce. “By virtue of its makeup, the industry is subject to little if any risk of corporate concentration, which is what the Bureau is always on the lookout for,” CTA wrote in a follow-up to members.

CTA also raised the point that competitive issues are usually created when a province adopts less stringent rules for intra-provincial carriers than for those who are federally regulated.

Lax enforcement of safety regulations allows truckers who don’t “go by the book” to undercut compliant carriers, CTA added.

Also, the lack of shipper responsibility for the selection of carriers who will knowingly break the law to fulfill the terms of a freight contract is also an ongoing problem.