Western Canada’s Trucking Newspaper Since 1989
March 2019
Delivering daily news at trucknews.com
Volume 30, Issue 2
Page 8
Page 12
Page 15
Advocacy goals
Attracting employees
Sentencing date
AMTA highlights advocacy objectives for 2019.
Trucking HR Canada provides tips on how to find, retain employees.
Driver from Humboldt tragedy to be sentenced March 22.
Reach us at our Western Canada news bureau Contact Derek Clouthier Derek@Newcom.ca or call 403-969-1506
United they roll
RETAIL ING IS ADVERT 3-3 PAGES 2
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Truck convoy heads to Ottawa to raise awareness of Alberta’s ailing oil and gas industry By Derek Clouthier
Just the beginning Woman launches petition urging stricter regulations for Class 1 driver training that go beyond MELT By Derek Clouthier RED DEER, ALBERTA News that Canada’s transportation ministers will implement a national standard for entry-level driver training (MELT) is being heralded as a step forward from one woman calling for stricter regulations for Class 1 drivers. Pattie Fair lost her husband in 2017 after a head-on collision between two semi-trucks. Fair’s husband was traveling to Airdrie, Alta., to pick up a load of hay. Emerging from one of the tunnels on the Trans-Canada Highway between Revelstoke and Golden, B.C., another truck entered his lane causing a head-on collision, killing Fair’s husband, Stephen Babij. “I decided that I was going to try and make a difference and make our roads safer, because this happens all the time,” Fair said of her efforts following the accident. “Then the Humboldt tragedy happened, and my heart broke for those folks.” It had been about a year after losing her husband that the Humboldt collision occurred. It was then
that Fair decided to launch a petition calling for more stringent government regulations for commercial driver training. She visited with several industry organizations, gathered information, and educated herself on the issues surrounding commercial driver training. Fair’s petition launched Jan. 14, and after 11 days being active, it was the sixth most signed petition out of all 50 registered in Canada. “It’s definitely something that Canada is supporting and Canada wants,” said Fair. “I’ve received a lot of support from the industry, which really surprised me. Drivers themselves want this.” As of Feb. 13, Fair’s petition had 3,593 signatures. The petition calls for regulation to the Class 1 driver’s licensing process, funding to be available to those looking to acquire their Class 1 licence, a graduated licensing system, and for information to be collected on licensing schools and commercial drivers. Though she was pleased to hear the news about a federal MELT program, Fair said much more needs to be done. Continued on page 7
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Before the Humboldt tragedy brought driver training into the public eye, a B.C. woman lost her husband in a semitruck collision, spurring her effort to bring stricter regulations to the industry.
RED DEER, ALBERTA United We Roll! Convoy For Canada! is heading to Ottawa to stand up for Alberta’s oil and gas sector. Since mid-December several rallies across Western Canada have been advocating for the construction of oil and gas pipelines. Groups organizing these rallies believe Canada’s federal government has failed to support the country’s energy sector. Several in the trucking industry would agree, and have shown their support. The first truck convoy rolled down the streets of Grande Prairie, Alta., Dec. 17. The event attracted more trucks than rally organizers expected, according to Rob Petrone of the Grande Prairie Petroleum Association, drawing more than 600 trucks in support of