With the federal election now behind us, the Canadian Trucking Alliance is urging Ottawa to work with the industry to preserve exemptions to new labour provisions and continue efforts to modernize the Canada Labour Code in a balanced way that considers the operational realities of the trucking industry.
With a new cabinet set to be announced on November 20, CTA is encouraging Ottawa to solidify into regulation the exemptions related to the scheduling of workers while also working with the trucking industry as it consults on other proposed changes, such as the introduction of a new Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMPs) regime, efforts relating to new pay equity and pay transparency rules, and new requirements relating to accessibility.
“CTA agrees the Canada Labour Code should reflect the values of a modern Canadian society and supply chain – the two are not mutually exclusive,” says CTA president Stephen Laskowski. “At the same time, though, the government must recognize the complexity, scale, and diversity of our industry. Applying monolithic solutions to such a diverse and unique sector does not always work.”
Recently, CTA has provided comments to ESDC on consultations relating to Pay Transparency, Accessibility and the proposed AMPS regime. In general, CTA supports efforts to modernize these areas, but continues to raise concerns with the speed and sweeping nature of the changes.
“The trucking industry is aggressive in our attempts to attract Canadians to our sector, including those from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the trucking industry,” said Jonathan Blackham, CTA director of Policy and Public Affairs. “But as we continue to innovate, we must also caution government that all new measures need to be carefully examined for their cumulative impact on businesses of all sizes. As we work with the Government of Canada, it’s imperative they remain mindful our industry is unique and faces very different challenges than other federally-regulated sectors like banking and telecommunications.”
CTA is encouraging members who are interested in labour files to sign up for CTA’s Labour Committee as these files will be highly active over the next 24-36 months. To sign up, please contact your local provincial trucking association and indicate you are interested in CTA’s labour committee.
