441-02242 (Employment and labour)

The Government of Canada fully recognizes the essential and demanding work accomplished by truck drivers in providing critical goods and services that benefit Canadians, and the significant role the trucking industry plays in the timely and efficient movement of goods for all sectors of the Canadian economy. Trucking is the backbone of efficient and economical freight transportation in the country. As such, the Government of Canada continues to work with all relevant industry stakeholders, provinces and territories to facilitate, encourage and support a safe, efficient and barrier-free truck transportation sector, including addressing labour issues in the trucking sector and investing in infrastructure that supports and enhances trade, commerce and overall safety.

Although most highways in Canada, including the Trans-Canda Highway, are the responsibility of provincial and territorial jurisdictions, the Government of Canada has always acknowledged the importance of highway transportation infrastructure to the trucking industry, Canadian economy and the wellbeing of Canadians, and has continued to invest in highway infrastructure in partnership with provinces and territories. However, jurisdictions are responsible for putting forward their respective highway funding business cases with respect to planning, design and construction, including twinning and provision of truck parking and rest stops.

With respect to infrastructure investments, the Government of Canada continues to invest in road infrastructure and to pursue initiatives that will benefit the trucking industry. Federal programs such as Transport Canada’s National Trade Corridors Fund are making significant investments to help improve the efficiency, reliability and resilience of Canada’s transportation supply chain infrastructure across the country. For instance, the program has committed over $4.1 billion since its launch in 2017 to support 213 projects that will support the flow of goods across Canada’s supply chains. This includes over $1 billion towards 42 road infrastructure projects.

In Canada, trucking operations, licensing and regulations are primarily a provincial and territorial responsibility. Therefore, most economic, operational and enforcement legislation and regulations concerning truck transport, including driver education and licensing are under provincial and territorial jurisdiction. For example, allowable gross vehicle and axle weights limits are set by each jurisdiction in which the carrier operates and are based on safety and operational considerations as well as highway infrastructure conditions. In cases of any infractions, enforcement of such regulations is also the responsibility of each jurisdiction with appropriate fines and penalty structure in place.

Further, in Canada, the trucking industry is deregulated, therefore, freight rates and volumes, market rates (e.g., $/km of travel) and brokerage fees are determined by demand for services, market conditions and level of competition in the transportation services market. On a related note, trucking services contracts, agreements and transactions are matters between two or more private parties (individuals, businesses etc.). However, in certain cases, these may also be governed by jurisdictional governments’ Consumer Affairs offices. Please consult the following website for more information: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/office-consumer-affairs/en/federal-provincial-and-territorial-consumer-affairs-offices.

In addition, load cancellation fees are part of private contract negotiations and not directly controlled by the Government of Canada. Fee structures may vary by business sectors and may not be standard. However, desired fee structures may be negotiated and stipulated in contracts. The Government of Canada does not control or regulate these aspects of the trucking sector.

Further, on the issue of use of washroom facilities, mandating access to businesses’ washroom facilities is not under federal jurisdiction, and providing access to such facilities by businesses may be dependent on the availability of such facilities and the goodwill of the business owners. However, provincial and territorial governments are already aware of the need and are actively adding/increasing and/or improving truck parking and rest stop facilities for truck drivers. Such investments, if submitted as part of the highway project proposals, are also eligible for federal funding mentioned above. 

It is also important to note that safety is Transport Canada’s top priority, including measures to strengthen commercial motor vehicle safety in Canada. Commercial vehicle safety is a shared responsibility among all levels of government, industry partners, and all road users. Under the Motor Vehicle Transport Act, Transport Canada is responsible for certain operational matters relating to extra-provincial commercial busing and trucking activity, such as hours of service, safety ratings and contract of carriage. Provinces and territories are responsible for driver training, licensing, vehicle registration, rules of the road, and enforcement, including the federal motor carrier rules, such as hours of service.

In this context, Transport Canada works with the provinces and territories to advance a consistent, national approach to commercial motor vehicle safety through the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA). This includes oversight and maintenance of the National Safety Code (NSC) for Motor Carriers (https://www.ccmta.ca/en/national-safety-code), which sets out a number of operational safety standards for commercial vehicles, including carrier and driver profiles, safety ratings, hours of service and facility audits. The Code is the basis for federal and provincial/territorial rules and regulations governing the safe operation of commercial vehicles, drivers and operators, with standards either adopted by reference into jurisdictional regulation or mirrored in provincial and territorial laws. This includes NSC-10 Cargo Securement, which is adopted or adapted in provincial/territorial legislation.

National Safety Code Standards (https://www.ccmta.ca/en/national-safety-code#nsc-standards)

Standard 1        Single Driver Licence Concept

Standard 2        Knowledge and Performance Tests (Drivers)

Standard 3        Driver Examiner Training Program

Standard 4        Driver Licencing Classification

Standard 5        Self-Certification Standards and Procedures

Standard 6        Determining Driver Fitness in Canada

Standard 7        Carrier and Driver Profiles

Standard 8        Short-Term Suspension

Standard 9        Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service

Standard 10      Cargo Securement

Standard 11      Maintenance and Periodic Inspection

Standard 12      Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance On-Road Inspection

Standard 13      Trip Inspection

Standard 14      Safety Rating

Standard 15      Facility Audits

Standard 16      Entry Level Training (Class 1)

In addition, in January 2019, the federal/provincial/territorial Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety agreed to finalize a Technical Standard on Electronic Logging Devices. This Standard is now embedded in the National Safety Code and Transport Canada has entrenched this standard in the amended federal Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations (see https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2005-313/).

For your information, Transport Canada’s Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations were first established in 1987 and have always been harmonized with the Council’s National Safety Code Standard 9 – Hours of Service. The hours-of-service rules set out in the Standard are based on the principles learned from the Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study, the largest and most comprehensive over-the-road study of fatigue ever conducted in North America, jointly conducted by the U.S. Department of Transport and Transport Canada. The regulations include Section 13 – Mandatory Off-duty Time, Section 14 – Daily Off-duty Time, Section 16 – Deferral of Daily Off-duty Time, Section 18 – Splitting of Daily Off-duty Time — Single Driver, Section 19 – Splitting of Daily Off-duty Time — Team of Drivers, and Section 24 – Cycles.

The CCMTA has established a review cycle for the NSC Standards under its authority. Transport Canada is one of the 14 member-jurisdictions of the CCMTA and will participate in the review process in this capacity.

Transport Canada is also aware of the labour shortages facing the industry. Transport Canada is continuing to collaborate with relevant partners, including other Government of Canada departments, the provinces and territories, industry, and other key stakeholders on ways to address these shortages.

Transport Canada is engaging with the Labour Program at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which are leading efforts to address issues of misclassification in the trucking sector. As part of the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada announced $26.3 million over five years for ESDC’s Labour Program to take stronger action to enforce the Canada Labour Code, which ensures that federally regulated employers are not illegally misclassifying their drivers, providing further protection to those transport drivers across Canada. Concurrently, the CRA is working across sectors, including the road transportation industry, to encourage greater awareness and foster compliance with tax rules governing the use of incorporated employees.