A delegation of Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) members and Trailcon Leasing Inc. hosted several policy makers to discuss several important issues to carriers in Peel and adjoining regions including trailer theft and red tape reduction in trucking.
Present athe the event were Hon. Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General of Ontario, MPP – Dufferin Caledon, Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, MPP – Brampton South, Vijay Thanigasalam, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation, MPP – Scarborough – Rouge Park, and Amarjot Sandhu, MPP- Brampton West.
The agenda focused on trailer theft and included a discussion on the impact of cargo crime on trucking companies, partners and other stakeholders and other strategies and solutions for reducing instances of cargo crime in the trucking industry in Ontario.
“Cargo theft continues to be a significant issue that not only has consequences for trucking companies, but also a trickle-down impact on the greater economy,” says OTA’s director of Policy and Industry Awareness Programs, Lak Shoan. “We applaud the Government of Ontario for recognizing the importance of this issue and look forward to working with them and other industry partners to mitigate cargo crime in Peel and other regions.”
Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, Prabmeet Sarkaria also spoke to members about what is being done to reduce red tape and make conducting business in Ontario much easier. OTA Chair David Carruth and OTA president Stephen Laskowski also highlighted the need to address changes to the Drive Clean program and emissions tampering in Ontario, and focus on WSIB enforcement and Driver Inc. among a number of other topics.
“On behalf of the OTA, I would like to thank the Solicitor General, Minister Sarkaria and the MPP’s in attendance for taking time out of their busy schedules to recognize the importance of our sector,” said OTA Chair Carruth. “We truly appreciate what they are doing to help make our industry more competitive by trying to reduce red tape. This government is clearly committed to keeping Ontario open for business.”
The OTA delegation consisted of OTA Chair David Carruth; Al Boughton, Trailcon Leasing Inc.; Guy Broderick, APPS Transport Group; Michael Buna, Walmart Canada; Marie Harris, Canadian Tire Corporation; Thomas Hennig, CN/CNTL; Jeff King, Manitoulin Transport; Brian Ledson, Cavalier Transportation Services Inc.; Joe Lombardo, Purolator Inc.; Norm Sneyd, Bison Transport; Rolly Uloth, The Rosedale Group; as well as OTA president Stephen Laskowski.
Other attendees at the meeting included Brampton area carriers AGI Transport; Basra Trucking; Green Leaf Carriers; Mars Freight; Sharp Express; and Wawa Transport.
OTA would like to thank OTA member Trailcon Leasing Inc. for hosting and organizing the event.
