OTTAWA – Who knows the impact of government waste and bureaucracy better than truckers?

Few do, so it makes perfect sense that a trucker has been selected by Ottawa to be part of a new Federal Commission looking at ways to reduce red tape in business.

Denis Prud’homme, an organic farmer and former owner of the Prud’homme Trucking in Regina and past president of the Saskatchewan Trucking Association, will join five other industry leaders and six elected officials on the Commission.

The Commission was formed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to identify regulations that impose an unnecessary burden on Canadian businesses — specifically small businesses.

The Commission will report its findings, and proposed solutions, by fall 2011.

‘I am humbled and excited to have been chosen by the Prime Minister to look into what can be done to encourage business growth, while reducing red tape," Prud’homme said in a press release. ‘Reducing red tape will lessen the compliance burden and some regulatory duplication faced especially by small and medium businesses."

STA President Glen Ertell is encouraged that Prud’homme’s appointment will provide officials with a perspective on the amount of red tape truckers experience daily.

The average annual cost of complying with regulations in Canada is reported to be between $2000 for businesses with no employees to $15,000 for medium-sized businesses.