Page 6 - DECEMBER 13, 2018 - martensville messenger
Provincial Politics with
Murray Mandryk
Let’s Compromise on Farm Trucking Yes, the Humboldt bus crash involved an out-ofprovince trucking company with a new-to-Canada driver at the wheel. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, a 29-year-old Calgary man, has been charged with 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm for his alleged negligence in this tragedy. Furthermore, Sukhinder Singh, the owner of Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd., was charged in October with violation of several federal and provincial safety regulations. Sidhu had only one year of truck-driving experience and only two weeks of training at the time of the April 6th crash. As such, Sidhu and Singh have been vilified in this tragedy - justifiably so in some cases, but less justifiably so in others. Obviously, allegations of breaching trucking relationships are a serious problem, worsened by deadly outcome and by any measure now, Sidhu’s training behind
the wheel was wholly inadequate. Yes, there has been a shortage of truck drivers across Western Canada. It’s a tough job requiring long hours away from home, often for little pay, but all drivers must be qualified, regardless of where they are from. While some have sadly chose to make this an issue of race and immigration, this is strictly about qualifications and safety. From here, though, it gets a bit complicated. Current qualifications for a big rig trucking license in this province is a Class 1 driver’s license and air brake operation certificate. There are no specific training requirements for training and applicants can take the test in a single day. While Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) notes that about 90 per cent do take a professional drivers’ training course (currently the cost is in the $2,000 to $2,300 range), 10 per cent don’t and it’s not a requirement to pass. All this takes us to one sad and fortunate reality. While it will be argued by many that Sidhu was inadequately trained and experienced to be driving a truck in that situation, it can also be argued that his training and qualifications were no less than many current licensed truckers in Saskatchewan, some of whom may have absolutely no training. The government took a big step this month to rectify that situation by requiring future truckers (as of March 15, 2019, when the new rules will be implemented) have 121.5 hours of training before testing for their Class 1 license; however, grandfathering existing licensed truckers
and exempting farm trucks from the new rules may not be helpful. In fairness, let us be clear that the bulk of the problem is less-travel grain semi-trailers. The numbers bear this out. SGI statistics between 2010 and 2017 show an average 1,189 collisions per year involving semi-trailer units in Saskatchewan. (These are total collisions in which the semi-driver may or may not have been at fault.) Of those, an average mere 86 collisions a year involved semi-trailers with farm plates. However, an average of 439 collisions a year in Saskatchewan involved out-ofprovince plated semis. This is because there is some validity in what SGI Minister Joe Hargrave said about farm semis being mostly used at certain times of year compared with professional truckers who may be driving 365 days a year. That said, to completely exempt anyone from any training requirement would be the other extreme. After all, it’s not quite like Hargrave said where farmers just operate their trucks from field to bin. There’s the safety of everyone on rural roads to consider. So why not a compromise? How about some minimum required training for those operating farm semis that would be something short of $8,500 full course that will be required after March 15? We need safe Saskatchewan highways for everybody and that means insuring everyone driving them are properly trained.
MLA Report With Nancy Heppner
Summary of Fall Legislative Session
I want to thank the thousands of SaskPower, SaskEnergy, SaskTel, emergency service workers, and many working across government Ministries for their tremendous response and their work through a major power outage affecting nearly one-third of SaskPower customers. Together their actions showcased the very best of Saskatchewan and that effort deserves recognition. Your Saskatchewan Party government is committed to standing up for Saskatchewan. This was our focus as we delivered on priorities for the economy and people of Saskatchewan throughout the fall sitting of the legislature. We outlined our plan to balance the budget in the spring, to fight the federal carbon tax, and to invest in services and infrastructure across the province. Even as we continue to face trade, transportation and economic challenges, year-over-year employment in Saskatchewan increased by 16,300 jobs in November. This is the largest job increase since 2013 and marks the fourth consecutive month of strong job gains for the province. We will keep standing up for our province locally, nationally and internationally to see this continue while fighting the Trudeau carbon tax, which will kill jobs and make our industries less competitive. The Government of Saskatchewan is taking action on climate change through the implementation of the Prairie Resilience Climate Change Strategy. This includes the introduction of new legislation to establish intensitybased performance standards for large emitters as well as the new Climate Resilience Measurement Framework, the first of its kind in Canada, with 25 different measures to
monitor and enhance Saskatchewan’s resilience to climate change. Over the past seven weeks we also became a leader in the country through legislation to expand Workers’ Compensation coverage for firefighters; by creating the longest maternity leave in the nation; and by becoming the first province in Canada to introduce Clare’s Law to help those at risk of intimate partner violence. Interpersonal violence leave will also be expanded to include sexual violence of any kind, allowing Saskatchewan residents to take time off to seek medical attention or access supports. To help Saskatchewan people who may need time off from work to care for family members, changes to The Saskatchewan Employment Act will create a new critically ill adult leave. Safety was a significant focus of the fall session with the introduction of mandatory minimum training requirements for commercial semi drivers; a proposed enhancement to rural policing to allow municipalities with populations under 500 to join regional police services; improved trespassing legislation; and new regulations to allow ridesharing companies to operate and provide more options for safe rides home. Our infrastructure investments continued with Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford nearing completion; the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital reaching 92 per cent completion; continued work to improve cellular service in rural Saskatchewan; and the opening of new bridges, passing lanes, and intersection improvements across the province.
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Bilateral agreements were signed with the federal government this fall to provide nearly $900 million for infrastructure projects over the next decade and more than $5 million to improve access to treatment for people with opioid or crystal meth dependencies. A recent report has found that the wait time for patients receiving specialist services in Saskatchewan was the shortest in Canada. This is much improved from the days Saskatchewan patients suffered with some of the longest waits in the country under the NDP. At the conclusion of the fall legislative session, and as we approach a new year, our commitment to always stand up for the people of Saskatchewan and the interests of our province remains the same. While we face many challenges in our province, one thing is certain: Saskatchewan people are determined, resilient and resourceful. Our government will always reflect those qualities as it stands up for our province and works to build a stronger Saskatchewan.