TORONTO, ON – Leaders of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) and provincial trucking associations have come together to identify 11 industry issues that could benefit from improved harmonization.

The call is designed to support a new task force under the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety, established in September 2016, and complements existing initiatives like the National Task Force on Weights and Dimensions.

Highlights of the submission include the need for:

• a consistent and collaborative push toward a standard on Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) as soon as possible;
• harmonized Hours of Service regulations in all jurisdictions with the federal standard;
• increased collaboration among federal and provincial governments on truck parking, and a related national strategy;
• progress by all governments with respect to mandatory entry level training for professional truck operators;
• mandatory drug and alcohol testing for professional truck operators;
• Canadian and U.S. carriers to be treated and monitored equally by carrier profile systems;
• Canadian carrier profile, safety rating, and audit systems to be given a formal review to ensure consistency and fairness;
• a minimum baseline for wide, single tires;
• improvements to the national weights and dimensions memorandum of understanding for B-trains and tractors with larger sleeper berths, implemented consistently and in a timely manner;
• provincial enforcement agencies to intervene in — and end — the practice of emissions tampering;
• all jurisdictions to move forward and implement speed limiter regulations.

“This is a great opportunity for further collaboration between industry and government,” said Stephen Laskowski, president and Chief Executive Officer of the alliance. “CTA commends the provincial trucking associations for their efforts in contributing to our submission and looks forward to working with all interests in addressing the issues identified.”