Minister Garneau and the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety today delivered a promise to enhance highway safety by completing a national pre-licence training standard for tractor-trailer drivers by first quarter 2020.

“The basis of this commitment was clear – that all Canadians should expect that people who receive their commercial driver’s licence and share the road with Canadians should be properly trained,” said Scott Smith, chair, Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA). “It’s a historic day for the trucking industry, which wholeheartedly shares the government’s vision for improved highway safety. Canadian tractor-trailer drivers across Canada who challenge the licensing test will now have to undergo a meaningful, minimum level of training and will be tested on the same technical elements they were trained for.”

The trucking industry and government policy makers developed the training standard after comprehensive consultations.

“The training components in the standard are necessary to train people to properly challenge the test and eventually be able to safely operate a tractor-trailer on a public highway. Minister Garneau, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Transportation and CTA have shown the people of Canada that we continue to be committed to improving highway safety,” added Smith.

The contents of the new published national standard housed by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) is expected to be very similar to the pre-licensing standard currently used in the Province of Ontario. Furthermore, the standard is expected to recognize, like any safety training standard, the contents and applicability should be reviewed on a continuous basis by federal, provincial and territorial officials who will consider if future improvements are necessary.

“Today’s announcement marks another chapter in the evolution of an already strong partnership between CTA and CCMTA to improve highway safety in the truck-training sector through policy development. Government officials and CTA will be working together continuously to ensure that minimum pre-licensing training is held to the highest standard over time and consistency is applied across all jurisdictions,” added CTA president Stephen Laskowski.

For the Council of Ministers press release click here: