EXCLUSIVE: Alberta leads crackdown on unsafe truckers, aims for Red Seal status

Alberta is revving up its efforts to make commercial trucking safer, with a comprehensive crackdown on unsafe training schools and carriers.

Source: X

Author: Isaac Lamoureux

Alberta is revving up its efforts to make commercial trucking safer, with a comprehensive crackdown on unsafe training schools and carriers, and an ambitious plan to elevate truck driving to a certified national Red Seal trade.

Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen told True North in an exclusive interview that the province is leading the way on developing a Red Seal certification for truckers, similar to the journeyman route of other trade careers.

“I think that will go a long way of having additional training for certain aspects of the trucking industry, as well as a higher degree of professionalism for people to see trucking as a lifelong career and something that they’d be proud to get into,” said Dreeshen.

He explained that to get a trade certified nationwide, five provinces need to sign off. Dreeshen said Alberta was “almost there” in getting five to support the program.

“I was a little surprised that it hasn’t been done already,” he said.

Dreeshen’s interview with True North follows an industry-wide enforcement blitz that resulted in five driver training schools being closed. The province also issued 39 disciplinary letters, more than $100,000 in administrative penalties, six corrective action plans, revoked 12 instructor licenses and sent four warning letters to driver examiners.

Thirteen commercial trucking companies were removed from Alberta roads due to “poor on-road performance, unsafe equipment, or failure to meet mandatory safety standards.”

Seven of these companies were “chameleon” carriers, which had been shut down elsewhere but attempted to operate in Alberta under new names, entities or locations.

Dreeshen said the trend of chameleon carriers is growing.

“They are essentially the same company moving to Alberta, changing the name and hoping they can start up without anybody noticing. And the fact that our guys did notice and shut them down obviously shows that our enforcement is working,” said Dreeshen. “But it is a disturbing trend that you see these trucking companies trying to get away with, obviously papering over their bad actions that they’ve done for a myriad of reasons, of why they got their license revoked in another province, and then hoping just to uproot and set up shop in a different province. It’s disturbing, but I’m glad we shut them down here in the province.”

Alberta previously rolled out an initiative to catch companies that were misclassifying drivers as independent contractors to avoid payroll taxes and benefits. In July, 20 per cent of the drivers stopped were misclassified, including some temporary foreign workers.

Alberta implemented new rules last year, requiring more training hours than any other province for a Class 1 license, Dreeshen explained.

“A trucker’s life, a trucker’s workplace, is on the road behind the wheel of a vehicle,” said Dreeshen. “So to be able to have more in-truck hours of training obviously creates a better driver.”

Alberta will also implement another safety change, making it a leader among the provinces. Driver experience records will follow the driver, instead of remaining with the company.

“We have seen certain bad drivers have accidents, have instances where they are then moving from company to company and their bad driving record actually never follows them. And so the new company that’s hiring them doesn’t know the previous accident or previous issue that they’ve had,” said Dreeshen. “So that’s something that we think will add more accountability into the industry, so that a trucking company will easily be able to identify a bad truck driver that maybe needs more training or just plainly shouldn’t be on our roads.”

Dreeshen said the province is short about 4,500 truck drivers amid the changes and safety enforcement.

He explained that trucking is integral to the provincial economy, getting food, goods and more to residents provincewide.

He is encouraging people with Class 1 licences who have left the industry to return, adding that a Red Seal certification would go a long way toward addressing the labour shortage. Support measures include provincial grants provided to the trucking industry.

Still, Dreeshen clarified that Alberta’s trucking industry is not in disarray.

He commended drivers in the industry, who he said do an “amazing job,” adding that it is a very challenging job that requires many to be away from their families.

“There are amazing truck companies, amazing truck training schools across the province that are world-leading,” said Dreeshen. “I don’t want to give off the impression that the trucking industry is, is, is somehow doing bad because I think they do have a they should have a very good reputation of being the best drivers and the most trained drivers on our roads.”

“My hat goes off to the men and women in the industry because they do a great job,” he said. “It is a tough profession, but someone’s got to do it.”