Release: Canada’s First Automated Commercial Trucks to Roll Onto Alberta Highways (Copy)
Safety, fuel efficiency and GHG reductions of connected truck platoons will be studied for one year
Calgary, AB (May 3, 2021) – Canada’s commercial trucking industry is shifting into a future that is being driven by safety, efficiency, and artificial intelligence. A test project funded by the Government of Canada will soon see a series of semi-trucks kitted with AI technology plying their trade on Alberta’s Queen Elizabeth Highway II – the major transportation corridor between Edmonton and Calgary.
Driver-assist technology will allow close-proximity following in platoon formation, reducing drag and increasing fuel efficiency. Other sensors, radar and camera technology will send information between trucks to manage safety and active braking systems, responding to sudden deceleration by the lead vehicle without human error like driver distraction.
The project includes ensuring platooning technology is tested for the safety of vehicle operators as well as all road users. Platooning can be a safe, efficient way to get Albertans the necessities they need on a daily basis.
–Alberta Motor Transport Association
While the official name for September 30th may have changed, Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation share common goals of honouring those who attended residential school, their families, and communities; creating meaningful discussion and reflection about the effects of these schools; and commemorating the history and ongoing legacy of the residential school system.
This September 30th, we invite you to join us in wearing orange. The orange shirt has become a symbol of remembrance of all Indigenous children who were removed from their families to attend residential schools where their language and culture were repressed, and many children experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The painful legacy of residential schools has had lasting impacts on both residential school survivors and their families.
We also invite you to join us in learning more about our past and its effects on our present and future. The University of Alberta has a free 12-part Indigenous Canada Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) which has been taken by over 21,000 people.
Other personal acts of truth and reconciliation include:
Read books which reflect on the experiences of residential school survivors
Volunteer at an Indigenous not-for-profit organization
Support Indigenous artists and musicians
Watch films and documentaries
Attend a cultural event
Create a family project around indigenous history
Participate in Indigenous tourism
Listen to the stories of Canada’s Indigenous peoples
Be an ally – listen and ask questions, write your government representatives, and share factual information
However you choose to reflect on Canada’s first official Truth & Reconciliation Day, it is our sincere hope that with each passing year we heal from our past and work together for a future which recognizes and celebrates all cultures and beliefs.