VANCOUVER, (Aug. 2, 2005) — A backdoor provision put forth by the Vancouver Port Authority in order to get 1,200 container haulers working again has divided several carriers that service the port.

The VPA has implemented a 90-day interim licence provision which port officials say could get the independent truckers moving containers as soon as Thursday. The truckers, represented by the Vancouver Container Truck Association, have been on strike since June 27 and are demanding rate increases and a fuel surcharge from their carrier brokers.

As part of the VPA plan, carriers would need to acquire interim licences to pick up or drop off containers within the port. By signing the declarations, trucking companies would adhere to the compensation provisions laid out by government-mediator Vince Ready this past weekend — a proposal approved by 90 percent of VCTA truckers on Sunday and unanimously rejected by the trucking firms the same day.

According to the Vancouver Sun, Ready’s two-year deal would have paid the owner-ops $90 to $185 per container, per leg, for the first year, increasing up to $200 in 2006, as well as implement a fuel surcharge when average prices for diesel hits the $1.05 per litre mark.

“The objective of this interim licence is to restore trucking operations in the short-term while a long-term solution is found,” said Gordon Houston, president and CEO of the Vancouver Port Authority. “This dispute has been very hard on many people throughout our community, hard on the economy, and has damaged the reputation of Canada’s busiest maritime gateway.”

The VPA says the provision is made possible only now pursuant to section 47 of the Canada Transportation Act, which allows this action to proceed for a period of 90 days without violating the provisions of the Competition Act.

Trucking companies have a grace period until Thursday to sign their statutory declarations and obtain their licence from the port. Interim licences will not be required from long-haul companies, however. The application can be downloaded here: www.myvpa.ca/vtacs.

Fleets are divided over the requirement. Part of the problem, reports Canadian Press, is that some carriers are confused over whether they’d be agreeing to the 90-day provision implemented by the port authority or if they’d be bound by the two-year proposal put forth by Ready.

A handful of trucking companies indicated they’d sign the interim agreement anyway, while others balked, telling CP the VPA’s plan isn’t legally binding and would not stand up in court.

— with files from Vancouver Sun and Canadian Press