The Globe and Mail today published another definitive investigation into the dark underbelly of the trucking industry – this time releasing an expose detailing rampant labour abuse and temporary foreign worker (TFP) program fraud by problematic carriers who exploit Canada’s fragmented regulatory system to evade oversight and compliance.
The report is a sobering continuation of last month’s coverage detailing the blight of Driver Inc and its correlation to mounting wage theft, exploitation and safety lapses across the trucking industry. Today’s report once again echoes many of the concerns raised for a decade by OTA and the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) about the rapidly eroding oversight system in Ontario and other parts of Canada, poor information-sharing between governments nation-wide; and shoddy enforcement in many provinces.
In particular, the article investigates how Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program is frequently used by trucking companies with significant safety, labour, and regulatory violations, once again raising questions about gaps in oversight and data transparency between government agencies.
The article supports arguments by OTA that allowing such companies to recruit vulnerable foreign workers undermines efforts to improve safety and labour standards across the trucking industry.
The Globe’s analysis found multiple examples (nearly 100) of companies receiving TFW approvals despite outstanding regulatory concerns and violations, including failed safety audits, suspended safety certificates, wage theft orders, workers’ compensation violations, and allegations of forged documents. In some cases, companies whose operating authority had been revoked in one province reappeared in other provinces under the same or a similar name, exposing weaknesses.
Although temporary foreign workers represent only a small share of Canada’s trucking workforce, there is a growing reliance by a segment of the trucking industry. Federal approvals for truck driver positions rose from roughly 1,000 in 2016 to 8,500 in 2024.
“Today’s investigation confirms what responsible carriers have been warning governments about for years: weak oversight, fragmented enforcement and poor coordination between jurisdictions are allowing unscrupulous operators to exploit both vulnerable workers and the regulatory system,” said Mark Bylsma, OTA Chair. ‘Most trucking companies play by the rules, invest in safety and treat their employees fairly. But as long as governments continue granting access to labour programs without properly vetting employers or sharing compliance information across agencies, bad actors will continue to undercut responsible businesses, exploit workers and put the travelling public at risk.”
OTA and CTA generally support temporary foreign workers in trucking, but for years have been urging governments to reform the program, namely by instituting a ‘Known Employer’ mechanism to protect workers by screening employers for labour misclassification, as well as tax and safety standards. Additionally, federal and provincial agencies need more boots on the ground at inspections facilities to actively shield foreign workers from on-the-road abuse and coercion, while ESDC audits should continuously target and eradicate employee misclassification (Driver Inc. models). Also, a national, centralized system is required to track and identify carrier offenses across jurisdictions.
In Ontario, OTA is asking the government to:
- Suspend the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program until a national “vetted employer” framework is established.
- Empower the WSIB with more enforcement officers to scale up the targeted work they are already doing.
- Enforce 24/7 Multi-Jurisdictional Scales: Shut down the operational loopholes that allow modern-day slavery on Ontario highways.
- Implement Mandatory Audits of all trucking companies: 85% of trucking companies in Ontario are never inspected. Thee needs to be at least a basic review of all companies, like how the province screens food service providers for health and safety.
OTA is also working diligently with labour rights stakeholders to end worker abuse and exploitation and human trafficking in Ontario’s trucking industry.
Last week OTA announced a partnership with the Joy Smith Foundationto fight forced labour in Ontario. By focusing on industry specific data that flags the potential patterns of forced labour within the trucking sector, and the Foundation’s decade-long expertise in the issues of human trafficking, the campaign supports increased awareness and engagement among industry stakeholders, law enforcement, and members of the public.
“The Globe and Mail’s reporting shines a light on serious gaps in our systems that allow human trafficking to continue, putting people at risk while traffickers take advantage of gaps in oversight and enforcement,” says Janet Campbell, president of the Joy Smith Foundation. “We need to move beyond reacting after harm has occurred and work together to recognize human trafficking earlier and prevent it from continuing. Through our partnership with the Ontario Trucking Association and Manitoba Trucking Association, The Joy Smith Foundation is working to help the industry recognize the signs, protect those at risk, and hold traffickers accountable.”
Read the full investigation at The Globe and Mail.