Data collection has begun for the nation’s first pair of artificially intelligent semi-trucks of their kind, which are part of a project studying the safety and benefits of connected commercial transportation on Canadian roadways.

In March of 2019, the Government of Alberta published a document titled Prevention Initiative for Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety System. In eighteen succinct pages, Alberta Labour identifies the types of injuries and diseases leading to the most Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) claims and highest Province-wide claim costs [1, 2]:

All employers are responsible for the health and safety of their employees. At the same time, workers, supervisors, managers, and the owners as well as all third parties on-site, share this responsibility. In short, everyone in the workplace shares responsibility for health and safety. This principle is enshrined as a defining concept at Alberta OHS legislation and Canada Labor Code Part II and is referred to as the Internal Responsibility System (IRS).

January 3, 2022 (Winnipeg, MB) James Richardson & Sons, Limited (JRSL) and Bison Transport (Bison) are pleased to announce that, effective December 31, 2021, Bison Transport acquired 100 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Hartt Transportation Systems, Inc. (Hartt) Headquartered in Bangor, Maine, Hartt is one of the largest truckload carriers based in the Northeastern US with 360+ tractors and 2100+ trailers and a sizeable logistics offering. Hartt is a 2nd generation business, founded in 1948 by Delmont E. Hartt and then owned by his son, Billy Hartt, until it was acquired by Bison. Hartt’s success over the last 70+ years has been driven by a long tenured and reputable customer base, low driver turnover, a focus on safety, a quality fleet and a strong company culture. These factors are similar to those that have allowed Bison to be successful, leading us to see a strong strategic fit between our companies.

This article may cause a few people’s blood pressure to rise. However, if you are a professional working in the road transportation industry, you probably have a good understanding of the rules and regulations applicable to our industry.  The companies that will be concerned are those that are accidental carriers or may be using incorrect labour and safety legislation.

The Federal Government has finalized the Exemptions from and Modifications to Hours of Work Provisions Regulations for the federally regulated road transportation, postal and courier, marine, and grain sectors. The final regulations will come into effect on February 1, 2022. Once in effect, our industry will be affected by these exemptions. Additionally, as of February 1, 2022, the Interpretation, Policies and Guidelines (IPG) 101 will no longer apply to the road transportation, postal, and courier sectors. This bulletin does not apply to provincially regulated employers.

On Dec 21, the National Post published an article that caught the attention of a lot of employers. The article found here tells how an Air Canada employee, who fell down her stairs, suffered a workplace injury and merited workers’ compensation. The employee was working her regular schedule from home and disconnected from her computer for lunch, located in her 2nd floor home office.

Commercial enforcement professionals from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba gathered via webinar Dec. 7 for a Western Canada Commercial Vehicle Out-of-Service (OOO) Trends webinar.

We are all familiar with seeing snowplows on Alberta roads and most of us are familiar with the adage “amber and red, snowplow ahead” and behind that is contractors and drivers on the road – sometimes 24/7 – ensuring driving conditions are as safe as possible.

On Dec 1, 2021, WCB announced the 2022 industry rates. The average industry rate will increase by 3 cents to $1.17 rather than $1.42, which would be required to cover the total forecasted claims cost for 2022. WCB will absorb the additional costs from its accident fund, to cover $265 million in employer premiums.

Workplace investigations can be highly stressful and carry a high degree of risk for an Organization if an investigation goes wrong. Employers need to be aware of those risks and plan any investigation accordingly. A critical decision that will help mitigate risk, is deciding who should conduct the investigation. Depending on the severity and/or seriousness of the incident an investigator could be Health & Safety, Human Resources, or a third party.

Every year, the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) celebrates the achievements of commercial transportation industry professionals who go above and beyond in their field.

BCTA stresses the best resource for real time specifics will always be Drive BC (www.drivebc.ca ). They will NOT be providing notice of real-time highway conditions as their provincial government is best positioned to do this.

On November 15, 2021, the federal and provincial governments announced an agreement to fund the expansion of accessible and affordable childcare. This is a game-changer for working families for several reasons. First, this program will reduce the childcare cost of families by up to half in early 2022 and to $10 a day within five years. Second, this should have a positive effect on the labor market, as many people who have opted to exit the labor market to take care of children for financial reasons may have the incentive to return to work.

While this page will be consistently updated to the best of our ability, the go-to resource for real-time updates and specifics is Drive BC

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) will be pressing Canadian and American authorities for more time to prepare for vaccine mandates recently announced by both countries for cross-border truck drivers.

In mid-November 2021, the Province of British Columbia experienced significant rainfall which caused widespread flooding and mudslides. As a result, all major highway and rail transportation corridors into and out of Vancouver, BC and the lower mainland were cut off from the rest of Canada, resulting in stranded travelers and delays of currently-unknown magnitude.

BCTA: As per our previous update, the best resource for real time specifics will always be Drive BC (www.drivebc.ca ). We will NOT be providing notice of real-time highway conditions as the provincial government is best positioned to do this.

Alberta Government: The $20-million Restrictions Exemption Program Implementation Grant is now open to all eligible businesses, cooperatives and non-profit organizations. In-scope small and medium-sized organizations may use the one-time funding as they see fit. Click to read full release.

On November 10, 2021, the provincial government opened the second intake of the Alberta Jobs Now Program (AJNP). The intent of this program is to support Albertans, including those with disabilities, to gain the right skills to find and maintain employment through on the job or formal training. This is accomplished by providing a subsidy to employers for 25% of a new hires annual salary up to $25,000, which ever is less. This increases to 37.5% or $37,500 when hiring people with disabilities. [1]