The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is calling on the Prime Minister ‘s Council on Canada-US Relations to expedite and expand a plan to make trucking the pilot industry for removal of interprovincial trade barriers.
The Prime Minister’s council is meeting in Toronto today. CTA is calling for members of the council to ensure economic improvements and removal of interprovincial trade barriers in trucking are part of the discussion and expedite pilot projects that were part of recommendations in 2024 made by the Internal Trade Minister to address illogical barriers and costly inefficiencies from the supply chain across the country.
The Committee for Internal Trade Ministers recognized at the time how important trucking is to domestic trade and the role it plays in the economy.
“The future is now. We have solutions that will dramatically improve domestic east-west supply chains. Many are easy fixes, but we need the Council to support these projects and give a strong endorsement for them being expeditated,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski.
Some examples, many of which were part of CTA’s 2023 trade barriers report. include:
- Harmonizing the movement of goods allowed to be delivered in trucks across provinces and territories;
- Addressing the twinning of Highway 185 (New-Brunswick & Quebec) that is forcing the unnecessary switching of equipment and trucks between Atlantic Canada and the rest of eastern Canada;
- Streamlining the permitting system around oversize/overweight shipments moved by truck so that large equipment/energy projects are not delayed by weeks or months by government employee vacation schedules or time of day differences.
- Aligning provincial winter road maintenance standards so goods can be delivered in a timely manner to customers, while ensuring the safety of truck drivers;
- More rest areas for truck drivers to allow for safer highways and a more productive domestic supply chain.
“We have many levels of government and other groups working to make Canada more competitive, and we need to make sure we are all moving in the same direction and leveraging our collective efforts productively, instead of reverting back to in-ward provincial thinking that for years have impeded these long overdue changes,” added Laskowski
Although these efforts on addressing interprovincial trade barriers remain critical, the CTA also strongly encourages the council to look at fiscal and economic measures, such as the reduction of corporate and personal tax rates to stimulate business growth; and taking meaningful action against the underground economy in trucking, which is currently weakening the trucking sector in Canada.