For Immediate Release
Milton, ON: The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada has announced the next regional seminar in its ongoing series of cross country educational half day conferences. The next seminar will be held on Thursday, January 26th in Guelph, ON.
The seminar will run from 8:30am to 11:30am and will cover two topics to bring value to employees and employers from many different sectors of the transportation industry. One of the advantages of being a member of the PMTC is that the PMTC actively seeks opportunities to provide members with access to leaders in the trucking industry who provide practical solutions which can be implemented into everyday policies and procedures.
The topics being covered are: Third Party Contracts and Mandatory Entry Level Training.
Third Party Contracts Between Shippers and Carriers
Private fleets are in a unique situation when compared to for-hire carriers, or shippers of products. A private fleet’s main purpose is to provide dedicated fleet services to its parent company; however, in many cases, the private fleet will also work with third party carriers (for-hire or dedicated contract carriers) to service the parent company’s additional demands. In these cases, the parent company and private fleet must ensure there are third party contracts in place to protect the parent company and customers from unfair legal judgments. Increasingly, private fleets are also using backhauls to subsidize their fleet operations. While these opportunities can generate significant additional revenue, the private fleet itself becomes a for-hire operator for a period; therefore, private fleets who sign back-haul contracts must be careful to ensure they do not bind either the private fleet or parent to a contract that can lead them into a legal black hole should a claim occur.
In this seminar, Richard Lande and Heather Devine, two prominent transportation lawyers, will take attendees through what needs to be in a contract to protect their interests. “Many companies do not have comprehensive contracts in place with third party trucking companies”, explains Richard Lande. “Many shippers mistakenly believe a carrier may shy away from such a document, when in fact many best in class carriers will have their own contract to recommend to their core customers.”
Heather Devine will address how to deal with unfair carrier contracts. “In this industry, carriers have little negotiating room to change a shipper’s contract” she reports. Heather explains: “Many carriers want to sign a contract with a shipper, but worry if there are too many ‘legal’ changes, the shipper will just move on to the next carrier. This can affect the negotiations for a back-haul arrangement.” Heather will show there are some clauses that can be accepted, but other clauses, if you cannot change them, must be clearly understood because they often shift full liability to the private fleet or parent company.
“In a practical sense, I help clients focus on the provisions of the back-haul or third party contract that can be ignored, and educate clients to identify those that must be either changed or at least explained to the decision makers at the private fleet and parent company to warn of the risk of pending liability.”
Richard and Heather’s presentation will review relevant standard contracts and explain the “must have” clauses, as well as the non-essential clauses which are none-the less beneficial. Heather will provide practical solutions when the ‘must have’ clauses are refused by the shipper, and liability is shifted to the private fleet, and parent.
Mandatory Entry Level Training
As of July 1st, 2017, no one will be able to challenge a full Class A road test in the Province of Ontario without first completing and passing a mandatory entry level training program that has been approved by the Province, and provided by a training facility that has also been approved by the Province. What will this mean for the transportation industry? How will the supply of drivers be affected? In this seminar, Kim Richardson, the Chairman of the TTSAO, and the President of KRTS, will take attendees through the Mandatory Entry Level Training Program in the Province of Ontario, where we were, our current state, and what it will mean going forward.
Register Now
Space is limited, so people are encouraged to register early by contacting Vanessa Cox at info@pmtc.ca. You can also register online at www.pmtc.ca.
Registration is just $25 for a PMTC member, and $100.00 for a non-member.
Sponsors are also being welcomed, if you are interested in sponsoring the event, please contact Vanessa for details. Location details will be provided upon registration.
About Our Presenters
Richard Lande
Richard Lande, Senior Partner for the private legal practice of Lande and Langford, has specialized in transportation law for over 40 years, and has offices in Ontario and Quebec. Richard’s recent focus has been assisting companies with their driver and shipper contracts, helping deal with issues pertaining to freight brokers, as well as contesting Highway Traffic Act violations. Richard is a current elected Governor of the Quebec Bar Foundation. Richard has authored eight law books over his years in the law practice. He graduated from McGill University, University of Montreal and Bath University (UK) with a PhD in Transportation Management. He was the first Canadian to win the Railway Medal, given by the Chartered Institute of Transport. He has also been a Transportation Fellow at Oxford University, as well as a visiting Fellow at the Bureau of Transport Economics in Australia. His legal practice encompasses manufacturers, as well as carriers in Canada and the United States. During his career, he has formed over 20 purchasing groups and among them, one represents some of the manufacturers of the finished vehicles in Canada, such as BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Subaru. Richard has organized a transportation conference in Toronto for the past 30 years. Richard has been the President of National Transportation Week, as well as the Canadian Division of the Chartered Institute of Transport. Richard is also a member of the PMTC.
Heather Devine
Heather Devine, Partner at Isaacs & Co, specializes in transportation law and has been repeatedly recognized as one of Canada’s Best Transportation Lawyers annually by her peers. Heather’s focus is on providing private fleet and parent companies with advice, cross border or within Canada, regarding all issues relevant to the transportation industry. Most recently, Heather has presented with Mr. Thomas E. Evans, Vice President & General Counsel for Walmart U.S. Legal Merchandising, Marketing & Supply Chain on how to deal with the media and the NTSB in a high-profile trucking accident. Heather also ‘Canadianized’ the TIA shipper-broker, broker-carrier agreements as part of her work on the Transportation Intermediaries Association Contract Committee. A member of the executive and a frequent speaker for the Transportation Lawyers Association, and a member of the executive of the Canadian Transport Lawyers Association, Heather was recently welcomed into membership with the prestigious International Association of Defence Counsel, and is a member of Claims Litigation Management. Heather is also a member of PMTC.
Kim Richardson
Kim Richardson has been in the transportation industry for 34 years. Currently he is the president of KRTS Transportation Specialists Inc., a multiple award winning family owned and operated business. Under the KRTS group of businesses is Transrep Inc. and The Rear-View Mirror. Kim is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Truck Training Association of Ontario (TTSAO) and on the Board of Directors of the Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI). He is the past Chairman of the Board for the Allied Trade Division of the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) and on the Board of Directors with the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) representing the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO). Kim is a proud husband, dad, grandpa and loves his community, Caledonia, Ontario.
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