AMTA Advocates

Published 2024-08-28

Table of Contents Column 1: Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Fall 2023 Column 2: 2023 Compliance and Regulatory Affairs: A Year in Review Column 3: Task Force on

Column 1: Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Fall 2023
Column 2: 2023 Compliance and Regulatory Affairs: A Year in Review
Column 3: Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Policy
Column 4: Understanding the Domino Effects of Provincial Advocacy – Safety Improvements and Operational Efficiencies
Column 5: Three Wins for 2024 Coinciding with Recent Government Updates
Column 6: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Workshop: North American Cargo Securement Harmonization Public Forum, Spring 2024, Louisville, Kentucky
Column 7: Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Annual Meeting and AMTA’s Q2 Compliance and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) Meeting
Column 8: AMTA’s Top Five Policy Positions, 2024
Column 9: Advocacy Update for Mandatory Entry-Level Training (MELT) in Alberta

Column 1: Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Fall 2023

December 2023

AMTA Advocates serves to shed light to the efforts the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) makes behind the scenes to advocate on behalf of our Carrier members. Interested in learning more? Email us at membership@amta.ca.

Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Fall 2023

AMTA Compliance and Regulator Affairs (CRA) Senior Advisor, Andrew Barnes recently attended CCMTA’s fall conference and here are some of the highlights from that event that could be of value to our Carriers:

We continue to see Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) being fully implemented across Canada. However, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and a few eastern provinces, are still not in a position to adopt federal legislation as well. On Prince Edward Island, provincial ELD enforcement will begin spring 2024, in addition to six new commercial enforcement officers coming into place.
Human trafficking is a major problem in North America, and the world. The issue is being addressed by a series of educational meetings for provincial enforcement bodies to ensure this illegal and devastating practice is curtailed as much as possible.

Provincial updates:

Nova Scotia: Has been reducing their driver testing backlog. In addition, Nova Scotia will have Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) in place by spring 2024, which will catch them up with most provinces in Canada.

Saskatchewan: Is doing a few minor regulatory updates around trip inspections and how their regulations will deal with this. However, nothing is expected to change as far as requirements for companies.

British Columbia: Speed limiters – maximum 105 km/h – for heavy-duty commercial vehicles are being introduced and will be in place by the end of the year. Additionally, there is a task force being created to determine why so many bridges are being struck by transport vehicles and enforcement will be increased in this area.

Quebec: Reviewing vulnerable road users and hoping to enhance safety guidelines for pedestrians and cyclists around heavy-duty commercial vehicles. As well, Quebec is developing MELT for those looking to obtain a Class 1 licence, which will meet Standard 16, bringing them up to date on the National Safety Code standard.

Ontario: Will be implementing a new storage and towing app, which will come into effect January 2024 for tow operators and storage yards.

New Brunswick: Moving ahead with soft enforcement for ELDs.

Newfoundland: Will introduce provincial ELD legislation in the spring of 2024 and has adopted a partnership with Drivewyze to allow for pre-clearance in that province.

Manitoba: Is making large changes using Bill 21, which will allow the province to revoke National Safety Code certificates more easily for carriers not operating in a safe manner. In addition, economists and platooning enabling legislation is being introduced to allow for the testing of these new technologies.

Other updates:

Transport Canada is currently moving ahead with ELD exemptions for drive away tollway situations and has announced it is looking at towing companies around potential exemptions for ELD’s as they have received a request from Manitoba. Cyber security is also being reviewed around ELDs to enhance security for all carriers using this technology. We are expecting more autonomous vehicle trials to be announced by Transport Canada as well.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from the United States completed its updates, and are in the process of hiring more staff. FMCSA is also publishing a notice on a new process for safety fitness determination – the first update in 20 years. In addition, FMCSA has changed the inspection software for roadside inspectors to allow for these inspections to be more easily updated within their carrier profile system.
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) reported road checks, as well as the yearly break checks and hazmat checks, will continue. The Education and Training Quality Committee is developing a new Transportation of Dangerous Goods course for Canada, which will allow officers to be trained in a more consistent fashion across all provinces.

Conclusion

The highlight of this meeting was the industry roundtable. Alberta and many other provinces spoke to the need for shifting to one carrier profile evaluation system for all of Canada. This would put us on a level playing field with the United States’ safer system. Currently, every province has its own way of evaluating violations and determining roadside fitness, which makes it almost impossible for carriers, as well as shippers, to determine safe carriers from unsafe carriers. Thus, this is going to become a critical movement forward for this committee and all provincial associations.

Column 2: 2023 Compliance and Regulatory Affairs: A Year in Review

December 2023

This has been an extremely busy year for AMTA advocacy and our work with Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC), as well as our federal work through the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), and various other federal ministries, has resulted in some key successes.

2023 Advocacy Success

The year started off strong with a meeting with TEC where we planned for an aggressive approach in developing and tackling policy positions for 2023:

April 17, 2023: The blue lights pilot project with Alberta Transportation and the Minister of Transportation was extended another five years. This project, Factors in Emergency Vehicle Visibility and Detection, allows flashing blue lights on tow trucks and maintenance vehicles ensuring roadside workers can be safer on Alberta highways.
June 15, 2023: After months of working diligently with Alberta’s International Registration Plan (IRP) Prorate Manager and the Executive Director, AMTA was successful in reducing prorate processing wait times for companies to register new vehicles within their fleets from 30 days to five. The increased wait times meant companies were losing up to $1,500 a day in revenues when a vehicle was not operating. This is continually being monitored to ensure Carriers can register vehicles in a timely manner in order to continue with the successful movement of goods on Alberta highways.
June 17, 2023: The AMTA Oilfield Sub-committee received notice and overview of the changes to permit conditions on the Oilfield Exemption Permit which, when finalized, now allows for less restrictive movement of oilfield equipment around Alberta. This win is critical to ensure AMTA members are not in precarious positions when attempting to move rig components directly to- and -from oil well sites. As well, this helps aid in Hours of Service (HOS) violations with the permissible hours and cycle switch.
June 17, 2023: New advocacy is being considered for the Loaders Excavators Oilfield Permit Conditions to allow for ‘excavator’ on the permit. TEC heard the importance and reasoning for loaders to be included, and other western provinces are being involved in the discussion. We suspect this will result in additional allowances.
September 25, 2023: AMTA successfully obtained additional weights for the Alberta Zero Emissions Truck Electrification Collaboration (AZETEC) trailer for two years, which will allow for full loads on all equipment. AZETEC is a first-of-its-kind industry-lead project that will involve the design, manufacture, and testing of two long-range hydrogen fuel cell trucks for operation year-round between Calgary and Edmonton with typical loads of product for a B train and Turnpike LCV. Since this is the largest and first design of this truck globally, we needed additional weights. Through work with TEC , AMTA obtained 65,300 kgs for the B Train, and 67,500 kgs for the Turnpike for a two-year test permit. This is a historic victory as it is showcasing AMTA’s dedication to introducing lower emission technology to our industry with funding from Emissions Reductions Alberta (ERA) as well as our contributing partners in the project. This project has already proven to be a success prior to the trucks hitting the highways as vehicle manufacturers are now looking seriously at designing lower emission equipment hydrogen trucks for the Canadian market.
November 10, 2023: A policy position developed in 2015 around Cargo Securement is now possibly heading to Congress as one of the major initiatives on the agenda. When a cargo van or container has a customs seal which can not be opened by a drivers, the driver should not be held responsible for the cargo securement of that load. Should the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) pursue policy changes that would move the violation from the driver or motor carrier to the shipper when the load has been pre-sealed by the shipper and is found to have blocking and bracing issues.

Column 3: Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Policy

January 2024

In December 2023, AMTA Board Member Dave Schmidt presented to the Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions during their annual Government/Industry meeting in Montreal, hosted by the Council of Deputy Ministers responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety.

The presentation, Low Emission Technologies was in support of AMTA’s policy position requesting the Provincial and Federal Government create a task force to develop a strategy to increase weights to accommodate the increased weight of zero emission vehicles (approximately 3,000 kg).

The presentation was well received, and a unanimous decision was made to establish this task force made up of both industry and government representatives.

As a benefit of an AMTA Carrier Membership, Carriers are able to bring forward industry challenges or opportunity for change for AMTA to lobby to government on their behalf. This particular issue was brought forward by Dave, and it was presented to AMTA’s board for consideration following our Compliance and Regulatory Affairs lobby process.

Column 4: Understanding the Domino Effects of Provincial Advocacy – Safety Improvements and Operational Efficiencies

The Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) is focused on serving the transportation industry in Alberta, specifically commercial carriers, as we raise safety standards and influence change through advocacy.

While there are many components to consider when advocating for change, one of the most critical components to consider is the specific need, which is communicated to AMTA, from a commercial carrier(s). In order for AMTA to effectively advocate for change, we rely on our Carrier Members to communicate pain points they’re experiencing in their operation, and to share specific hurdles that can be explored, to determine if advocacy can in fact help resolve such pain point.

Another critical component of advocacy is validation. AMTA will determine the cause of the pain point and if it can be changed without negatively impacting the safety of others. Then, in collaboration with our Carrier Members, we help validate the need, and the potential solution. When we consider the steps taken to determine if an issue will be advocated for, it’s critical that AMTA listens to our Carrier Members.

Compliance and Regulatory Affairs

AMTA developed a committee, known as the Compliance and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) committee, which is designated for Carrier Members of AMTA, to work on a broad range of transportation industry advocacy topics around safety, environmental, social, economic and compliance matters that impact Alberta fleets.

The CRA committee meetings occur quarterly and provide an opportunity for AMTA Carrier Members to meet with representatives with Alberta Transportation, Alberta Sherrif Highway Patrol, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and special guests to discuss regulatory issues, and to interact with senior level government officials.

AMTA’s Compliance efforts are overseen by Michelle Spacil, Director, Member Services and Andrew Barnes, Sr. Advisor – Compliance and Regulatory Affairs.

For transportation issues of national scope, AMTA works in tandem with other provincial trucking associations as well as the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), and other stakeholders as required.

AMTA’s Carrier Members can bring forth compliance questions to the forefront, where the association assists in research and helping determine the best path forward or an interpretation to the question. Many of these questions arise around federal and other province issues, which highlights where the relationship AMTA has between other Provincial and Federal Associations, Workers Compensation Board, Commercial Safety Vehicle Alliance, Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridor, Sheriff Highway Patrol, and others, are so critically important.

AMTA Cost Analysis Calculator

To help showcase the critical impact Carrier Members have on enhancing road safety through advocacy, and an opportunity to improve their organizations efficiency which positively impacts the bottom line, AMTA has developed a Cost Analysis Calculator.

The Member Services team explored the operational and safety benefits for recent advocacy wins and constructed the tool in such a way that commercial carriers can clearly see the impacts of this collective effort by answering a series of strategic questions.

To date, some of the commercial carriers that we have navigated the Cost Analysis Calculator with, have seen thousands of dollars saved, and have a better understanding of how recent advocacy wins positively impact their organization and their ability to operate on our highways safely and effectively. It is worth noting, that in addition to the commercial carriers’ findings and the benefits to their organization, other commercial carriers that operate a similar business structure are also benefiting from the advocacy efforts.

Understanding that some of AMTA’s advocacy positions can take up to five or six years for the more complicated ones to be resolved, while others can be navigated with a successful result much faster, in the end, each advocacy effort impacts the safety of our roadways, and has an operational benefit to commercial carriers.

In addition to advocacy, AMTA is utilizing the tool to showcase additional benefits of joining AMTA as a Carrier Member, such as cost savings on training, and selecting AMTA as your organizations Certifying Partner to pursue and maintain Certificate of Recognition (COR).

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of a full Carrier Membership, and scheduling an appointment to review your operations with AMTA’s Cost Analysis Calculator, please contact us at amtamsc@amta.ca.

AMTA Advocates article submitted by Andrew Barnes, Sr. Advisor of Compliance & Regulatory Affairs and Josh Hannaberry, Sr. Advisor of Member Solutions, Alberta Motor Transport Association

Date: February 2024

Column 5: Three Wins for 2024 Coinciding with Recent Government Updates

Budget 2024 – Major Alberta Highway and Infrastructure Upgrades

In late March, the Budget 2024 was released, and Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors has included $1.9 billion for major upgrades to Alberta’s highways. There are a significant number of roads, highways, and bridges in our province that have been flagged as needing work that will be expanded and improved on. Several of these highways were policy positions that AMTA has been advocating to government on behalf of our carrier members who brought these issues to our attention. These changes will significantly impact commercial drivers in our province, and this is a huge win for us and our members.

Projects that we advocated for and have been awarded funding in Budget 2024:

Highway 3 Twinning, Taber to Burdett AMTA engaged in conversations with the Highway 3 Twinning Development Association (H3TDA) with safety as the main concern for pedestrians and vehicle traffic. Sections of Highway 3 are currently twinned, but approximately 220 km still require twinning. Highway 3, stretching from the Crowsnest Pass at the BC border to Highway 1 (TransCanada Highway) in Medicine Hat—a distance of 320 km—is designated as a future freeway within the National Highway System. Alberta Transportation (AT) has identified necessary improvements and protective measures to implement freeway designation for this corridor. The twinning of Highway 3 in its entirety will extend safety and economic stability to commuters in the province. Highway 3 is a critical southern corridor for transporting oversized loads from various industries across Alberta. Often, commercial transportation vehicles travel 10 km below the posted speed limit of 100 km for the majority of Highway 3. With truckers driving at 90 km and unable to pull onto the shoulder to allow passing, backlogs of commercial and passenger vehicles quickly develop. Vehicle backlogs can cause highway motorists to take unnecessary risks to overtake slow-moving vehicles. Construction of this highway began over the last few years and is set to continue.
Highway 40 South Grande Prairie Twinning AMTA worked with the District Engineer and the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) to bring forward the safety concerns and impediments of Highway 40 south of Grande Prairie, also known as the Montney area, a heavily traveled trade corridor. The congestion on Wapiti Bridge has caused consistent problems for trade in the area since the late 1980’s due to the expansion of exploration in the Montney area. On Highway 40, 5 kilometers on either side of Wapiti Bridge, the collision rate for this stretch was 206 collisions per hundred million vehicle kilometers travelled, including 3 fatalities and 44 injury collisions. This section of highway is one of the most dangerous in Canada, inhibiting the opportunity for the transportation of products and services into the North South Trade Corridor. Construction on this route has begun over the last few years and continues with the twinning of Highway 40 south of Grande Prairie.
Infrastructure Concerns – Northeast Corridors (Highway 63 twinning, north of Fort McMurray) Highways 28A, 28, 63 to Atmore, from Edmonton up to the twinned section of 63 are still only single lanes, and there is a lack of connective roadway structures between Edmonton and Grassland, resulting in safety concerns and congestion issues. The corridors have seen hundreds of vehicle-related injuries and dozens of fatalities in recent years as the busiest routes in and out of the oil sands. The Fort McMurray oil sands region provides great economic impact as over the next 10 years the oilsands will account for more than 60 percent of the Canadian gross domestic product (GDP). Continual conversation with the Regional Director and the ADM of Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridor (TEC) to ensure further funding will be made available to complete the project. Continue to support Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors and the County of Grande Prairie through industry support and lobby efforts.

“Alberta is the fastest-growing province in Canada, so it’s imperative we get to work today planning, designing and building the highways and bridges we need for tomorrow. This investment from the Government of Alberta will strengthen the province’s transportation network and expand our economic corridors so we can build our businesses, boost our exports, and create good-paying jobs-Tim Bennett, senior vice-chair, Alberta Motor Transport Association

Read the full release: https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=90001071938B8-F53C-1FF0-DB76C4C47B744B4B

Alberta’s first commercial hydrogen fueling system unveiled in Nisku

On March 27th, 2024, in Nisku, Alberta, Blackjacks Roadhouse made an exciting announcement of the first commercial hydrogen fueling system in Alberta.

The Alberta Motor Transport Association has worked closely with project partners, Blackjacks Roadhouse, Nikola Motors, Edmonton Global, PrairiesCan, Suncor, Leduc County, and Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), to get this project across the line and open the doors further for the hydrogen economy in Alberta.

“Projects like this demonstrate that Alberta is serious about lowering GHG emissions and is a true leader in the drive to alternative fuels for commercial transportation. This announcement is another step in opening the Edmonton/Calgary QEII corridor for long-haul operations with alternative fuels like hydrogen.” – Doug Paisley, AMTA Board Chair

Read the full release: https://edmontonglobal.ca/news/albertas-first-commercial-hydrogen-fueling-station-launches-in-the-edmonton-region/

This event comes on the heels of AMTA’s historic roundtrip drive on the QEII between Edmonton and Calgary with AMTA’s Nikola Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) using only 61% of the tank of hydrogen.

This Canadian first through Alberta’s busiest corridor was a tremendous success and proved these zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) are more than capable for long-haul operations in our province and climate, compared to other ZEV capacities tested in Alberta better suited for return-to-base short-haul operations.

Learn more and watch the historic journey here: https://amta.ca/a-milestone-journey-alberta-motor-transport-associations-amta-historic-drive-on-albertas-busiest-corridor-with-nikola-fcev/.

New Learning Pathway for Class 1 Drivers

On March 27th, 2024, in Calgary Alberta, Hon. Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors with the Government of Alberta, announced that there will be changes coming to the Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) program and training of class 1 commercial drivers. As it stands, this program is not structured to meet the industry’s needs and reduce the roadblocks that class 1 drivers entering this industry are facing.

Through our Carrier Members and our Compliance and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) committee, AMTA has heard from our industry that the MELT program isn’t and hasn’t been effective. We polled our members on the policies that they identified as most crucial at our Q1 CRA Meeting at the beginning of March, and a MELT/Licencing review yielded the highest results.

At our core, AMTA is focused on enhancing the education and safety of the commercial transportation industry, and through the relationships we have cultivated with the Alberta government, we are taking an active role in pursuing these policies and improvements to keep our highways safer.

“Getting the right people with the right training behind the wheel is critical to the province’s commercial transportation industry and the economy” – Robert Harper, AMTA President

Read the full release: https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=90043062A8021-CBB5-92EB-CDE931508E5993BE

Watch the announcement:

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of a full Carrier Membership and becoming involved with these conversations on our Compliance and Regulatory Affairs committee, please contact us at amtamsc@amta.ca.

Column 6: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Workshop: North American Cargo Securement Harmonization Public Forum, Spring 2024, Louisville, Kentucky

AMTA’s Compliance and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) Senior Advisor, Andy Barnes, recently attended CVSA’s Spring Workshop on behalf of our Carrier Members.

AMTA’s CRA committee supports and actively participates in CVSA Workshops to advocate for our Members in a number of policy positions such as the Level VIII Inspection, Beyond Compliance, and changes to CVSA Policy, and Out of Service Criteria.

Here are some of the highlights from those forums and committee meetings that are of value to and affect our Members:

Day 1:

North American Cargo Securement Public Forum: this is one of the many committees that Andy sits on as it directly relates to how enforcement is making policy changes and updates to their interpretation of National Standard Safety Code 10, the cargo securement regulations, standards, and enforcement in North America.

As active participants in CVSA Workshops, we have advocated for changes and adjustments to the interpretations to the National Standard Safety Code 10 in years past for policies that were approved or are in the process of being approved. This includes policy changes for when a driver does not have access to a secure load, any issues that occur should be placed with the shipper and not the driver. Two additional examples of discussions at this meeting include large or heavy concentrated loads being transported on wood flat deck trailers and resulting in failure of the deck, and hay being transported on Hay Racks that are classified as Pole Trailers and their subsequent tiedown requirements.

Day 2:

Human Trafficking Prevention: sessions were held on the Human Trafficking prevention and the work that TAT is doing to increase enforcement, education, and investigative awareness, including the involvement of smaller carriers.

Associate Committee Meeting: A Level VIII inspection update was given by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The new concept to enhance carrier and driver compliance would mean the Level VIII inspections would be conducted electronically so vehicles do not have to stop at a scale and would not involve direct interaction with an officer, reduce idle emissions, save time and increase data collection. AMTA is leading the Canadian committee on the new electronic inspection process which eventually will lead to a form of a positive credit on a carrier profile. This will improve a driver’s credits as we have seen with the random inspections on the decline, and enforcement typically only stopping commercial vehicles when they have identified something wrong, the number of positive credits are currently being outweighed by the negative.

Day 3:

Policy and Regulatory Affairs: at this meeting, the Beyond Compliance program was discussed in more detail to be reviewed and considered before it will be approved by this committee and then the CVSA board of directors as a formal program to be developed – Alberta is looking very carefully at this program.

Day 4:

Committee Meeting – Enforcement and Industry Modernization: this committee reviews, in detail, all the upcoming technological advancements in commercial transportation to ensure safety, uniformity, quality and performance of these new technologies such as Smart Trailers, touch screens, cyber security, and auto-braking.

Day 5:

Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development: this associate member meeting was held to confirm the actions needed with the further development of hazardous material enforcement.

The afternoon session on Day 5 was the CVSA Board of Directors meeting. During this meeting the Beyond Compliance program was approved for new development.

To wrap the highlights for the CVSA Spring Workshop, Andy is now active and sitting as one of the International Driver of the Year nomination judges for this prestigious award. https://www.cvsa.org/programs/idea/

Column 7: Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Annual Meeting and AMTA’s Q2 Compliance and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) Meeting

*Please note, AMTA strives to report on these meetings as accurately as possible, and will update as needed.

CCMTA Annual Meeting – Educational Session

AMTA’s Compliance and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) Senior Advisor, Andy Barnes, recently attended the CCMTA’s Annual Meeting at the beginning of June in Edmonton on behalf of our Carrier Members.

Here are some of the highlights from the educational session that covered the National Safety Code (NSC) Standard 7 and 14 in Canada and the panel interview discussion on Canada’s current safety fitness certificate model.

Every province measures National Safety Code (NSC) performance differently for carriers. As an example, carriers registered in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec will have three different NSC profiles and three different ways of monitoring a carrier’s on-road safety performance, but each will all meet and be compliant with the federal government’s standards. During this session, Andy raised the issue that having NSC standards measured and calculated differently between the provinces does create some barriers to understanding for carriers. However, we don’t envision the province moving to one NSC database across Canada as we understand we live in a federation of provinces. Moving forward, it would be good to see one CCMTA data exchange, which exchanges data between all the provinces, to keep carriers accountable for any infractions and violations between provinces, and keep the roads safe.
The panel asked what we saw as the two biggest issues facing commercial vehicle safety today – and Andy identified one of the biggest issues, from our perspective and our Member’s perspective, is the driver shortage for hiring qualified people, which creates a condition where safety can be compromised. The other big issue is that we must look more closely at ensuring that we are tracking carriers between the different provinces, this will eliminate practices such as Driver Inc., and chameleon carriers who reincarnate themselves in another province after being placed out of business in one.
When asked for recommendations that could be made to measure the safety performance of carriers consistently, Andy suggested that all provinces need to work to reduce the time it takes to get violations uploaded on carrier profiles so that carriers can work with their drivers before violations get out of hand. If there is lagging data that isn’t showing up, or we have groups of data hit the carrier profile at once, that will change your profile rating significantly overnight. As inspections happen, they need to be uploaded sooner so that drivers and carriers know they are committing violations and don’t continue to be ignorant to the issue.
An additional recommendation to improve the measurement of safety performance would have some form of a national database where carriers are operating in Canada so that they can clearly see where they have vehicles registered for the purpose of acquisitions. Having this traceable database, and a national NSC numbering system, would also significantly reduce the ability for chameleon carriers to appear.

CCMTA Annual Meeting – Board of Directors Meeting

The Board of Directors meeting was an open reporting session from the Board in replacement of attendees participating in the various committees the BOD reported on. Some of the updates from that report meeting are as follows:

The Council of Ministers set a task force to review how carriers can move from province to province in Canada without detection. This council will be reported in early 2025.
The Federal Motor Carrier Administrators’ current biggest priority is reducing speeding across the country, and preventing impaired drivers from operating on highways.
CVSA Enforcement Industry Modernization Committee is working with an Identifier to improve efficiencies in roadside enforcement, and Level 8 inspections are moving forward in Canada.
American Association of Motor Vehicles is prioritizing work on identity theft and the protection of data.

AMTA’s Q2 Compliance and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) Meeting 2024

During AMTA’s Q2 Compliance and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) meeting, our special guest representatives from the Government of Alberta were:

Lynn Varty, Assistant Deputy Minister – Traffic Safety Services Division
Malcolm Mullin, Acting Executive Director – Monitoring and Compliance Branch
Kristin Ward Diaz, Executive Director – Modernization and Strategic Initiatives Branch
Andrew Pillman, Executive Director – Carrier and Vehicle Safety Branch

This meeting was open exclusively to AMTA Carrier Members, and our attendees included a mix from multiple sectors of transportation, including:

Livestock
Oil and Gas
General Freight
Fuel
Heavy Haul
Utilities
Road Maintenance
Construction

Our feature panel was Transportation and Economic Corridors – Alberta’s On Road Safety Performance Commercial Transportation. The key topics of conversation included Driver Pathways as carriers were interested in exactly how it will work for provincial & federal carriers, the possible challenges, and a lot of great suggestions for helping ensure the pathways plan will work. In addition, the Government panel inquired with the Carriers in the room about being involved moving forward and t o reach out to Kristin Ward Diaz or AMTA. Lastly, another part of the discussion was to highlight the collaborative efforts between the Government of Alberta and AMTA and the positive working relationship.

Are you interested in attending these meetings and being a part of these crucial and transformative conversations? Reach out to our Member Services team to learn more about membership with the AMTA at: membership@amta.ca.

Column 8: AMTA’s Top Five Policy Positions, 2024

Identified as the matters meaning most to Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) membership, today we’ll share AMTA’s Top Five Policy Positions for 2024.

Pathway to a skilled and recognized trade: Class 1 Driver AMTA continues to look to the future of Alberta’s economy and want to see Albertans back to work. The commercial transportation industry is seeing shortages of drivers projected up to 40,400 vacancies by 2030. AMTA’s recommendation on this policy is continued support of the Government of Alberta’s Learning Pathway. Announced in March 2024, the pathway will include changes to Class 1 driver training and licensing. The changes focus on developing driver competency throughout a driver’s career while ensuring road safety. These changes will implemented March 1, 2025.
Complete NSC listing profiles – Alberta AMTA advocated to receive comprehensive NSC data. Working with Alberta’s Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC), AMTA has already started receiving data allowing carriers to understand the state of compliance in Alberta included violation trends.
Redevelopment of an AMTA Carrier Member program of excellence In 1994, AMTA (known at the time as the Alberta Trucking Association (ATA)), started a series of meetings discussing the potential benefit of a program of excellence for provincial carriers. Early notes marked benefits of the program as minimizing audits and better utilizing resources to accomplish overall improvement in safety and infrastructure protection. Today, AMTA is working with TEC to conduct a vision of the program moving forward including advanced technology and safety management system best practices.
Long Combination Vehicle (LCV) Western MOU review Currently Alberta has 154 LCV carriers operating an LCV permit issued by TEC. Drivers are trained using AMTA or other provincial association LCV training material. AMTA would like to look into a western MOU allowing for the service brake on the converter dollies to be disabled; adopt the permit condition for adverse conditions, breakup or make up of LCV during mechanical breakdowns in safe areas, allow for use of tridem trailers including a hitch offset up to a maximum of 3.5 metres matching the eastern MOU, and redefine training requirements, label a lead trailer and converter as a train combination, not an LCV.
Level 8 Inspection Inspection numbers have decreased since 2012, while they are beginning to increase, Carriers can be at a disadvantage with the R factor on a profile looking at inspection pass rates, and that in turn aiding insurance companies in determining rates. AMTA recommends TEC, Alberta Sheriffs, and Drivewyze develop a new Level 8 inspection pilot program. It is understood that the current electronic inspection does not meet all the CVSA requirements for a full Level 8 inspection, but some partial credit should be given to Carriers on their Carrier Profile.

Column 9: Advocacy Update for Mandatory Entry-Level Training (MELT) in Alberta

In Alberta, Mandatory Entry-Level Training (MELT) became mandatory on March 1, 2019. At that time, all driving schools in the province had to re-apply for a new driver training school license. In Alberta, Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC), publishes the list of licensed driving schools, including those who offer MELT. Alberta’s requirements for driving schools include a cap on the amount of tuition charged (no more than $10,000 for the minimum, Class 1 MELT) to ensure costs are fair and accessible.

In Alberta, the government removed the requirements for Class 2 licenses to participate in MELT with the objective of making it easier for Albertans to obtain them. Furthermore, accessibility to employment in our industry through any of the below-noted program streams would drastically improve the underrepresented demographics within the ranks of Professional Drivers – foreign workers, youth, women, Indigenous groups, and more – all as a direct result of easing access to standardized training and subsidy options province-wide and not just in high population centers.

On March 27th, 2024, in Calgary Alberta, Devin Dreeshen, Minister of TEC, announced there will be changes coming to the MELT in the form of a Learning Pathway. AMTA conducted interview consultations to obtain feedback on MELT program improvements for Phase III of the Learning Pathway project with several of its carrier members in both the trucking and bussing sectors. Below is a summary of the responses received.

Carrier Member concerns and thoughts for current MELT

Q: What are your recommendations on how the MELT class 1 program should look?

A: MELT training, from both Alberta and other provinces, needs to be included on driver abstracts so it can be verified nation-wide in Canada, when a driver is seeking employment.
A: A proctored, online option for the classroom portion should be available for companies who prefer this method of training (knowledge test should be taken at an Alberta registry office)
A: Competency-based driver training and an evaluation conducted by a certified instructor should be an option for both in-yard and on-road training by companies with the size and driver instructors to do that. Currently, many of our members are retraining drivers in-house as soon as they get a driver from a MELT School as they don’t trust the training being completed from many of them. Companies have higher standards than school that are currently conducting MELT training.
A: Competency-based training and evaluations could include:
Immediately require ELD usage and the requirement to produce ELD information to Driver Fitness Investigators for driving school investigation and audits.
The ability for carriers to apply to become a training facility, and subsequently, their staff certified as competency evaluators and examiners.
Requiring an in-house company competency evaluator to have two years of driving experience.
Company in-house driver trainers and coaches do not need to meet the current MELT instructor qualifications and should be only require 2 years of driving experience and be subject to a certified competency assessment course no more than 1 week.
A requirement for carriers to obtain a minimum NSC audit score within the last 3 years and have an acceptable carrier profile if they choose to become an in-yard and on-road competency assessment facility.
The restriction on training while conducting normal course of business needs to be lifted for the competency assessment program, as companies have been conducting driver training and coaching on the job hauling billable loads. This has been a solid practice since the beginning of this industry.
Carriers in this program could be subject to a review by TEC to ensure that they are not a ‘Driver Inc.’ company and/or meet the minimum requirements set out by TEC.
Carriers’ yards to meet minimum specifications.
GOA is recommended to lay out a competency assessment program based on all the skills that are currently taught in the in-yard and on-road portion of MELT.
The competency assessment be completed on possibly a tablet system which would track location and hours spent, along with possible photos when the assessment program requires proof of who is in the driver’s seat etc.
Requiring an evaluator to attend a training course developed by TEC (or AMTA).
Based on a competency model, each student could take the full number of current hours required for each class of license for the on-road skills assessments, unless the competencies are met before that time. Students could also access additional training time to meet their skills assessments.
Once the online classroom and competency-based in-yard and on-road portion have been completed, the driver could schedule a government driving exam to receive their license.
The standard driving school model and funding could remain in place for small carriers to access.
Funding availability for unemployed individuals who want to pursue a Class 1 license.

Looking to the future

As we look to the future and the bolstering of Alberta’s economy, the development of a Class 1 competency-based program in Alberta will provide the opportunity to accelerate market entry for Canada’s commercial transportation supply chain. With an anticipated 45,000 or more vacant commercial driver positions by the end of 2024, a competency-based program will aid those looking to change their careers by:

Increasing the accessibility of advanced Class 1 training for unemployed and underrepresented groups including women, indigenous peoples, and visible minorities as a government oversite apprenticeship program which would create a true carrier for these people.
Encouraging workers familiar with the industry or re-entering commercial driving to obtain advanced training incr easing the ability to make a good career.
Targeting youth who easily relate to apprenticeships and want the ability for higher wages.
Complement future standardized courses that will allow commercial driving to be identified as a certified skilled trade extending huge cost and time savings to large organizations who currently duplicate training for every new driver hired while ensuring small organizations adhere to minimal skill development.