The introduction of a private members’ bill in Queen’s Park aimed at improving safety on Highway 11-17 “falls short” of what needs to be done, said the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) in a news release this week.
The bill, backed by the NDP, calls for provincial truck inspection stations and weigh scales to be staffed 12 hours a day, stepped up OPP enforcement, better government testing and certification of commercial truck drivers, and eliminating contracted-out highway snow plowing in favour of bring snow removal operations directly under the Ministry of Transportation’s control.
“The bill announced this week by the NDP only calls for 12-hour presence, which will do little-to-nothing to stop the underbelly of our industry from continuing to put fellow road users at risk everyday along the Trans-Canada Highway, which is the key link to Canada’s east-west trade network,” said OTA president and CEO Stephen Laskowski in a statement.
The OTA said Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria told them he supports around-the-clock enforcement of scales across Ontario, particularly in Thunder Bay.
The association said the bill makes “sound directional recommendations” on winter maintenance on Highway 11-17 and improvements to commercial driver training, something the OTA said it’s provided with its own comments on these and other issues.
The OTA and the Quebec Trucking Association have also co-developed an action plan to address non-compliance issues that are rampant in the trucking sector.
The OTA said Sarkaria has written to his federal counterpart, Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland emphasizing how important Highway 11/17 is to the national interest and how a cost-sharing arrangement should be established to ensure it should be maintained and cleared to the same standards as the 400-series highways in Ontario.
