OTTAWA, (June 13, 2005) — Canadian Transport Minister Jean C. Lapierre has announced amendments to the Motor Vehicle Transport Act that will permit provincial jurisdictions to monitor the safety performance of all extra-provincial motor carriers operating in their territories.

The amendment — along with changes to the Motor Carrier Safety Fitness Certificate Regulations — will come into force on January 1, 2006.

The Motor Carrier Safety Fitness Certificate Regulations are based on the National Safety Code Standard No. 14 Safety Ratings. The NSC is a collection of performance standards for the safe operation of commercial vehicles.

The revised regulation would assign a national rating based on safety performance in areas such as vehicle maintenance, driver performance and accident record to carriers — which would then receive a Safety Fitness Certificate, with a rating of either “satisfactory – unaudited”; “satisfactory”; “conditional” or “unsatisfactory”.

A carrier whose safety performance deteriorates significantly could be prohibited from operating on all Canadian roads, according to Transport Canada. The safety ratings would also be available to the public.

“Through these proposed amendments, we will be able to establish a common approach to safety ratings nationally so that safe motor carriers may compete on a level playing field across Canada and eventually across North America,” said Lapierre in a press release. “This will help improve safety, reduce the risk of commercial vehicle collisions and promote a fair and competitive environment for safe carriers.”