CTA Welcomes Fed ELD Announcement; Urges Uniform Support by All Provinces

CTA: 

(Brampton, ON, Dec. 18, 2017) – The Canadian Trucking Alliance is applauding federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau’s leadership in introducing language in Gazette I which mandates the use of electronic logging devices (ELDS) in the trucking industry.

The Alliance will now continue consulting with the provinces on a strategy to roll out these imperative safety devices across Canada as soon as possible.

“CTA knows Minister Garneau wants to see enforcement of this important safety regulation as soon as possible. During the comment period of the Canada Gazette I process, our sector will be working with all provincial stakeholders to support Minister Garneau’s safety vision,” said CTA Chair Gene Orlick, owner and president of Orlicks Inc. in Calgary, Alta.

Following the comment period, Transport Canada will publish the final rule along with the implementation date. CTA is urging governments across Canada not to stall nation-wide enforcement.

“Regardless of how long it takes to publish a final rule in Canada Gazette II, CTA would like to see all provinces introducing mandatory enforcement of ELDs as soon as possible,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski.

Although much input has been provided into the Canada Gazette I process by CTA, provincial officials and ELD suppliers, Ontario’s Minister of Transportation is the only provincial transport minister to publicly support the mandatory introduction of ELDs. The lack of a similar declaration elsewhere in Canada to date could complicate the process and the publishing date of Canada Gazette II, says CTA.

“ELDs will ensure optimum compliance with the hours-of-service regulation, reducing commercial vehicle collisions related to fatigue and cognitive driver distraction,” said Laskowski. “At a time when every province is looking to reduce fatalities and collisions related to commercial fatigue and distracted driving, we believe every transportation minister should be sharing Minister Garneau’s commitment to see this important legislation take effect as soon as possible.”

To meet CTA’s desire to see this ELD rule implemented as soon as possible, CTA recently asked the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Road Safety to consider the following recommendations:

• As soon as possible declare your support for an intraprovincial ELD mandate mirroring the proposed federal regulation. A clear public message of the expectations and timeframes needs to be sent to all carriers that would be subject to an ELD mandate.

• Prioritize and accelerate the introduction of provincial regulations/legislation that adopts by reference the federal mandate (including any sectoral exemptions that exist within the federal standard).

• Commence educational awareness and enforcement of the ELD mandate as soon as possible to ensure hard enforcement can begin as soon as possible.

• Focus hours-of-service enforcement efforts as soon as possible on those carrier segments that will continue to rely on paper logbooks during the period up to the passage of the provincial regulations/legislation.

“The US’s experience in implementing ELDs has shown us that even with two years to prepare, there will be some in our sector that never choose to comply in time,” said Chair Orlick. “While we need to be respectful of the transition-time requirements of ELD implementation to businesses and governments, we also must not manage to the lowest common denominator and ensure everybody is fairly complying with the rules.”

CTA has produced two videos illustrating the impact of ELDs on the supply chain. The first video – The ABCs of ELDs (French version here) explains the transition issues fleets will face moving from paper logbooks to ELDS; while the second video (FR here) describes how carriers can better explain to shippers the role they play and how they affect operations in an e-log world.

CTA would like to thank Steve Ondejko of Windsor, Ont.-based Onfreight Logistics (Ontario Trucking Association chair); Gary Arnold of Arnold Bros. Transport in Winnipeg (Manitoba Trucking Association chair); Kenan Advantage Group’s Grant Mitchell of Edmonton (Alberta Motor Transport Association chair) for attending the event. Also, a special thanks to Kriska Transportation driver and OTA Road Knight, Louis Carette, for demonstrating ELDs to the minister Garneau; as well as Al Boughton and the Trailcon Leasing team for hosting the event.