The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is calling on Premier Ford and his cabinet to increase resources to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and other agencies to expand enforcement efforts through Operation Deterrence.
OTA’s call comes in response to US President Trump’s announcement to increase tariffs to 35 percent on non-CUSMA qualifying goods due to ongoing concerns over drug trafficking and immigration issues at the northern border.
“OTA advocated for the creation of initiatives like Operation Deterrence as an immediate response to Washington’s concerns about border security between Canada and several US states,” said OTA Chair Mark Bylsma. “Operation Deterrence yielded good results and increased the presence of enforcement to and from our border crossings. We strongly feel now is the time for government and authorities in Ontario to keep their foot on the accelerator in addressing Washington’s concerns. Our economy needs it; our sector needs it – now more than ever.”
Over the 48,400 total inspections in the first quarter of Operation Deterrence, about 22,500 separate types of non-compliance issues were found. This translates into a rate of about 46 non-compliance issues per 100 inspections for Ontario-plated carriers. The rate was even higher for out-of-province carriers. (50 non-compliance issues per 100 inspections for carriers based other provinces; and 53 non-compliance issues per 100 inspections for carriers based outside of Canada).
A total of 4,254 separate out-of-service defects were identified. Out-of-service defects are violations considered to be an “imminent hazard” which must be corrected prior to allowing the driver and/or vehicle to resume operating.
The top five out-of-service defects identified across all inspections were: Cargo securement violations, damaged air brake supply lines, inoperative brake lights, flat or leaking tires, and inoperative rear turn signals.
The out-of-service defects are consistent with the Operation Deterrence target of disrupting illegal border activity, in that they show more of a focus on trailers and cargo bodies.
“OTA commends the efforts of the Minister of Transportation, the Solicitor General and their collective teams for tackling these border security challenges head-on with Operation Deterrence,” said OTA Sr VP Policy Geoff Wood. “However, we clearly need to do more.”
OTA has called for a host of initiatives to address security and safety concerns in the trucking industry, including having truck inspection stations in key locations operate 24/7 and coordinate inspection efforts with other provincial and federal agencies like ESDC and CRA at roadside.
“MTO and OPP officers already operate side-by-side in many areas, but we need to increase this partnership at the scales between them and other agencies. It’s critical all the appropriate authorities are present to ensure organizations and drivers engaged in non-compliant activities can’t slip through jurisdictional and legal loopholes,” added Wood.
OTA is also reminding all levels of government the use of forced labour in trucking is real and needs to be addressed with the same urgency.
Recent discussions between OTA and U.S. officials have uncovered a disturbing trend where Ontario-based truck drivers seeking U.S. visas are regularly reporting they earn wages one-third of normal industry standards.
Based on the frequency of visa issuances and their duration, it’s likely there could be hundreds of trucks a day crossing the Canada-US border using what OTA describes as slave labour.
“Our industry has become overrun in the last decade by non-compliant activity and a lack of enforcement that have put a huge strain on the ability for law abiding carriers to maintain operations,” said Wood. “This latest tariff escalation, and the underlying issues that triggered it, is linked to the underground economy and criminal element infecting the Canadian trucking industry and should be a wakeup call for governments to reinforce their efforts to clean up our sector on all fronts. Our industry is in crisis and fixing it can alleviate some of the factors at the root of this ongoing trade war.”