e-513 (Trucking and truckers)

Petition to the Minister of Transport

• there are many problems associated with training, credentials recognition, safety and licences for newcomers;
• working conditions are unsuitable: base salary, overtime only after 60 hours, statutory holiday calculations, unhealthy lifestyle, lack of job security and health issues;
• the provincial ministers have refused quasi-systematically to recognize military licences versus civilian licences;
• selection programs and training programs vary from one province to another, preventing wider access (scholarships, grants);
• there is an increasing shortage of drivers since professionals have left to seek better living conditions, even if it means a pay cut;
• the trucking industry is largely under federal jurisdiction, and enforcing provincial road safety legislation and legally recognizing that this occupation is a profession would help reverse this shortage;
• we provide a service that is essential to the Canadian economy;
• there is a chance the American administration will overstep its bounds and tax cross-border truckers;