OTTAWA, Ont. — The trucking industry was front and centre on Parliament Hill this week, when the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) combined its bi-annual board meeting with its Lobby Days in Ottawa initiative, culminating in a West Block reception on Oct. 18 that was attended by more than 300 parliamentarians.

Those in attendance included several cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats, carriers and provincial trucking association managers from across the country.

“This was our most successful group lobby event yet,” said CTA CEO, David Bradley, who gave an informative presentation on current issues and concerns of the industry. “Our guests from the federal government were genuinely interested and the opportunity to match up carriers, the associations and politicians from the various regions was terrific. These things are not easy to put together, but it was well worth the effort.”

The event also saw the presentation of the Trailmobile-CTA National Service to Industry Award, posthumously, to J.R. “Bud” J.R. McCaig the chairman of Trimac Transportation who passed away earlier this year.

While hobnobbing with the politicians and civil servants, CTA continued to drive home its message of the economic importance of trucking; its commitment to safety, to the environment, to its employees and to providing the best possible service to its customers.

“The reason that trucking is the predominant mode of freight transportation in Canada is service, service, service,” Bradley said.

The discussion on the major policy issues confronting the industry included not only what government should do to help the industry but also what the industry is doing to help itself.

“We don’t need or want government to solve all of our problems, but we don’t want them to impede our ability to compete and meet our societal responsibilities. Of course we also want them to spend our tax dollars wisely,” Bradley said.