The Prime Minister of Canada today informed Canadians we must be ready for a rapidly changing future – one that will disrupt our businesses and has already significantly curbed investment.
In response to these economic storm clouds, the Prime Minister announced new measures he says will protect our nation while building and transforming strategic industries within Canada.
“Many of our members are facing the worst economic conditions our industry has seen in three decades,” said CTA President & CEO Stephen Laskowski. “Beyond the programs announced today, the biggest message to Canadians and businesses was the free trade economy we have known for over four decades is on life support, and, perhaps, may never come back as we have known it. Although this message is difficult to hear, it also means governments will also be required to make some tough choices and make policy decisions based on what’s best for the economy and not for political positioning.”
The series of measures announced today could potentially assist employees in the trucking industry, as well as company owners; but some of these measures could also hurt the sector, by potentially rewarding carriers participating in various misclassification and tax evasion scams that continue to plague the industry.
CTA will be sending commentary to the Government of Canada on the following matters:
- Additional weeks of employment insurance (EI) benefits for Long-Tenured Workers: Like in all sectors, potential layoffs could become more significant in the trucking sector, and those using the Personal Service Business (PSB) misclassification model, numbering in the thousands, cannot be eligible for these EI benefits – period. The Government must not reward participants of the PSB scam to benefit from this measure.
- Buy Canadian Policy: Government procurement that favours Canadian businesses and suppliers must also ensure that these companies are not abusing or misclassifying its workforce.
- Clean Fuel Regulations: These amendments to support renewable fuels and biodiesel must be made in cooperation with the end users, many of whom continue to have significant operational concerns regarding biodiesel and the costs and availability of options such as renewable diesel.
- Electric Vehicle Availability Standards: As the CTA continues to reiterate, all heavy truck regulations related to the reduction in carbon emissions must be examined in partnership with OEMs and suppliers, and with the acute awareness of the policy direction that is being taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).