Saskatchewan Trucking Association

July 30, 2007

CANADIAN TRUCKING ALLIANCE WILL BE WATCHING US CABATAGE ENFORCEMENT

For more information click on the article.

U.S. COURT APPEALS ISSUES OF HOURS OF SERVICE

For more information please read

Hours of Service Ruling

March 20, 2007

Federal Budget 2007: Conservatives to Restore 80% Tax Deduction for Truck Driver Meals

(Ottawa: March 19, 2007/REVISED) -- Today’s federal budget, introduced in the House of Commons by finance minister, Jim Flaherty, had something for everyone, including truck drivers. Starting immediately the federal government will begin to restore the meal tax deductibility for long-haul truck drivers (or the company that reimburses them) to 80% from the 50% level it has been at since 1994. The breakdown for the incremental increases is: 60% starting March 19, 65% in 2008, 70% in 2009, 75% in 2010, and 80% after 2010. Also, since less of the meal cost is now considered personal consumption, the input tax credit that may be taken for GST on meals also increases. To be eligible, drivers must be away for at least 24 consecutive hours, and the purpose of the trip is to transport goods beyond a 160 km radius from the home location; in addition, the vehicle must have a GVWR of greater than 11,788 kgs.

For the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) which has been fighting for the restoration of the 80% deduction, for more than a dozen years, this was welcome news. It had been a feature of virtually every CTA pre-budget submission during that period. The report of the Standing Committee on Finance tabled at the end of 2006, noted the need to finally address this matter. Most recently, CTA joined forces with Teamsters Canada and the Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada, in launching the End the Lunch Bag Letdown campaign where truck drivers sent thousands of post cards to the finance minister calling upon him to restore the 80% deduction.

"This is a clear, decisive victory for the hardworking Canadian men and women of the trucking industry," says David Bradley, CEO, Canadian Trucking Alliance. "This is a good move."

"It proves once again," he says, "that if you believe in your cause and it is just, that you make reasonable arguments, if you work with other groups having the same objective, and most of all if you are persistent you can prevail upon government to do the right thing. You have to be in it for the long haul and you have to have a government that is willing to listen."

There were other measures of interest to the trucking industry. For example, the budget included $16 billion in new infrastructure funding, most of which starts in FY 2010-2011 and which will include new funding (funding not announced in 2006) of $6 billion over four years for a new Building Canada Fund. From now until 2010, all funding programs announced in 2006 are being folded into various funds, including the Building Canada fund and the fund for gateways and border crossings (including funding for the Windsor-Detroit corridor and the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor).

Other measures were announced that eventually may or may not have some relevance or benefit for trucking, although it was difficult to do a full assessment from the information contained in the budget papers:

Updating the Canada-US Tax Treaty to facilitate cross-border investment and commerce;

Increasing the CCA rate on computers from 45% to 55%;

$500 million starting in 2008-09 to provide training opportunities for those unable to access training under current EI programs. To be developed in consultation with the provinces;

$2 billion over 7 years to support the production of renewable fuels like biodiesel.

March 2, 2007

Federal Government Says NO to Ontario Truckers

(Toronto: March 2, 2007) -- At a press conference in Victoria this afternoon following a meeting of the country’s energy ministers, the federal minister of Natural Resources Canada, Gary Lunn, said the Government of Canada will continue to do "everything it possibly can" to resolve the current diesel fuel shortage plaguing the Ontario trucking industry, but it will not allow the industry to use off-road diesel fuel - a request made by the Ontario Trucking Association at the beginning of the week. The minister was short on specifics of what the federal government might do but stated it is "doing the best it can in a tough situation" by speaking to oil companies and railways about redistributing fuel from other parts of Canada to Ontario. He also complemented the Ontario government on its efforts to date.

OTA president, David Bradley, said "we’ve known from the outset that the regulatory solution presented challenges for the federal government but we had hoped that they would have been able to find a way to work with oil industry, which created this problem in the first place, to make it happen."

"Obviously we are disappointed that the federal government could not, or would not, find a way around this regulatory roadblock despite the support of the provincial government for such a measure. Now we can only hope that the oil industry’s assurances are accurate and that things will stabilize soon. We have no other choice. For now it will be up to every trucker to find their own solution to the fuel shortage."

March 2, 2007

Ontario Government Calls on Ottawa to Take Action on Diesel Fuel Shortage
Ontario Trucking Association welcomes intervention by Province’s Energy Minister and Liberal MP, McTeague

(Toronto: March 2, 2007) -- The Ontario Trucking Association is hoping that the Government of Canada will heed the call from Ontario’s Minister of Energy, Dwight Duncan, for urgent action to relieve the current shortage of truck diesel fuel by allowing truckers to use a brand of diesel fuel which the industry used for more than a decade until this past October and is still used in off-road applications.

In a letter to federal environment minister, John Baird, Duncan states that "Ontario’s economy is heavily dependent on trucking, and the trucking industry is solely dependent on diesel fuel." He went on to say that temporarily allowing the trucking industry to use this fuel "would significantly reduce the negative impact on the Ontario economy arising from the current situation." Duncan is in Victoria today, along with federal natural resources minister, Gary Lunn, at a meeting of the country’s energy ministers, and is expected to drive home Ontario’s concerns.

Last night, Dan McTeague, Liberal Member of Parliament for Pickering-Scarborough East, wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, adding his support to OTA’s request "given the importance of surface transportation to the Canadian economy, and in recognizing the temporary nature attached to the request."

David Bradley, president of the trucking association says he welcomes the support of the provincial government and federal MP’s like Dan McTeague. "Ontario gets it, members of parliament get it, now we need support from the Government of Canada," he said.

Bradley says the shortage of truck diesel has worsened in the last 48 hours with trucking companies being cut off from deliveries to their underground storage tanks, with retail pumps being closed throughout the province and fuel being rationed to a quarter of a tank.

"There are millions of litres of fuel that is perfectly suitable to use by trucks sitting in reserve, that we need temporary access to, but it’s not happening," says Bradley. "It’s frustrating when you consider the risk to the economy."

The problem, according to Bradley, appears to be that the federal government is to use his words "in a regulatory straight-jacket." The government says it does not have the authority to suspend the current regulation governing truck diesel fuel standards, even on a temporary basis. That would require a regulatory change which under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act would take a minimum of 60 days to pass. Another way would be for the government to introduce legislation as it did recently to end the CN Rail strike. However, given that MP’s started their March break today, that is not likely to happen. Or, the federal government could take a soft approach to enforcing the regulation for a short period of time until the fuel supply situation stabilizes, and assure the oil companies they would not be prosecuted for selling the off-road fuel to the truckers.

Bradley says, "there must be a way; it’s an intolerable situation we are facing with trucks roaming around looking to find fuel to put in their tanks," he says. "It is quite incredible that an industry the size of the oil producers could allow this situation to occur. It is equally bizarre that in post-9/11 world, after the supposed emergency planning of the past six years, that the economy should be exposed to such a risk."

"It’s amazing how resilient the trucking industry has been under very trying circumstances. We all hope we have hit bottom and that for everyone’s sake fuel inventories will improve soon. But right now I would have to say that is just wishful thinking because we have seen nothing so far that would suggest next week won’t be as bad as this week has been or worse."

March 1, 2007

Ontario Government Announces Temporary Exemptions to Fuel Haulers’ Hours of Service Regulations to Respond to Fuel Shortage
OTA still waiting for decision on temporary access to off-road diesel

(Toronto: March 1, 2007) -- The Government of Ontario has announced that it is implementing temporary exemptions from specific elements of Ontario Regulation 555/06, Hours of Service, to petroleum haulers until the fuel supply situation in the province stabilizes. These exemptions will be provided to petroleum haulers transporting gasoline, diesel fuel or home heating oil. Effective immediately a driver and operator are exempt from the following requirements of Ontario Regulation 555/06:

9(3), 11(2)(d)(iii) or 11(3)(d)(iii) in respect to the elapsed time accumulated;

13(1) in respect to the mandatory 24 hours off-duty time in the preceding 14 days; and

13(2) in respect to not driving after accumulating 70 hours on-duty time in a 7 day period.

If the commercial motor vehicle is being used, to transport gasoline, diesel fuel, or home heating fuel, or to return after transporting those products, if the vehicle is empty and travelling to a location to receive another load of gasoline, diesel fuel, or home heating fuel. This exemption will remain in place until March 15, 2007.

David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association welcomed the announcement saying that "it should help ensure that the fuel haulers don’t run out of hours before making their deliveries. We anticipate that there will be long line-ups at the fuel loading depots for the next while."

As of this morning, Bradley said that the fuel shortage for truckers has not eased and that yesterday one of the major diesel fuel suppliers told its customers that the situation went from "good" to "critical" in 24 hours yesterday. OTA has been in discussion with both the federal and provincial governments regarding the association’s proposal to allow truckers to temporarily use low-sulphur railway grade off-road diesel until the supply situation stabilizes. Bradley says that OTA has been informed that there are millions of litres of this fuel available and that the Nanticoke refinery, even at low capacity, can produce this grade of diesel fuel much quicker than regular truck diesel fuel. OTA is still awaiting federal environment minister, John Baird’s decision. "It’s complicated, and legislation might be required, but where there’s a will ...," says Bradley.

Archived National Issues


Board of Directors STA History Interesting Facts Member Benefits Cost Savings of Membership Member Fees Why Join the STA? You Need the STA if... Road Ban Fax Newsletter JJ Keller Safe Driving Program Products Scholarships Truck Heroes Heavy Equipment Program Driving Championships Golf Classic Management Conference Trucking Funspiel Truck Driver Training Industry Training Air Brakes & Brake Adjustment Instructor Training RV & Heavy Trailer Courses Training Schedule Drivers Mechanics Office Staff Miscellaneous Jobs	July 30, 2007 CANADIAN TRUCKING ALLIANCE WILL BE WATCHING US CABATAGE ENFORCEMENT U.S. Cabatage Enforcement For more information click on the article. U.S. COURT APPEALS ISSUES OF HOURS OF SERVICE For more information please read Hours of Service Ruling March 20, 2007 *Federal Budget 2007: Conservatives to Restore 80% Tax Deduction for Truck Driver Meals* (Ottawa: March 19, 2007/REVISED) -- Today’s federal budget, introduced in the House of Commons by finance minister, Jim Flaherty, had something for everyone, including truck drivers. Starting immediately the federal government will begin to restore the meal tax deductibility for long-haul truck drivers (or the company that reimburses them) to 80% from the 50% level it has been at since 1994. The breakdown for the incremental increases is: 60% starting March 19, 65% in 2008, 70% in 2009, 75% in 2010, and 80% after 2010. Also, since less of the meal cost is now considered personal consumption, the input tax credit that may be taken for GST on meals also increases. To be eligible, drivers must be away for at least 24 consecutive hours, and the purpose of the trip is to transport goods beyond a 160 km radius from the home location; in addition, the vehicle must have a GVWR of greater than 11,788 kgs. For the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) which has been fighting for the restoration of the 80% deduction, for more than a dozen years, this was welcome news. It had been a feature of virtually every CTA pre-budget submission during that period. The report of the Standing Committee on Finance tabled at the end of 2006, noted the need to finally address this matter. Most recently, CTA joined forces with Teamsters Canada and the Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada, in launching the End the Lunch Bag Letdown campaign where truck drivers sent thousands of post cards to the finance minister calling upon him to restore the 80% deduction. "This is a clear, decisive victory for the hardworking Canadian men and women of the trucking industry," says David Bradley, CEO, Canadian Trucking Alliance. "This is a good move." "It proves once again," he says, "that if you believe in your cause and it is just, that you make reasonable arguments, if you work with other groups having the same objective, and most of all if you are persistent you can prevail upon government to do the right thing. You have to be in it for the long haul and you have to have a government that is willing to listen." There were other measures of interest to the trucking industry. For example, the budget included $16 billion in new infrastructure funding, most of which starts in FY 2010-2011 and which will include new funding (funding not announced in 2006) of $6 billion over four years for a new Building Canada Fund. From now until 2010, all funding programs announced in 2006 are being folded into various funds, including the Building Canada fund and the fund for gateways and border crossings (including funding for the Windsor-Detroit corridor and the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor). Other measures were announced that eventually may or may not have some relevance or benefit for trucking, although it was difficult to do a full assessment from the information contained in the budget papers: Updating the Canada-US Tax Treaty to facilitate cross-border investment and commerce; Increasing the CCA rate on computers from 45% to 55%; $500 million starting in 2008-09 to provide training opportunities for those unable to access training under current EI programs. To be developed in consultation with the provinces; $2 billion over 7 years to support the production of renewable fuels like biodiesel. March 2, 2007 *Federal Government Says NO to Ontario Truckers* (Toronto: March 2, 2007) -- At a press conference in Victoria this afternoon following a meeting of the country’s energy ministers, the federal minister of Natural Resources Canada, Gary Lunn, said the Government of Canada will continue to do "everything it possibly can" to resolve the current diesel fuel shortage plaguing the Ontario trucking industry, but it will not allow the industry to use off-road diesel fuel - a request made by the Ontario Trucking Association at the beginning of the week. The minister was short on specifics of what the federal government might do but stated it is "doing the best it can in a tough situation" by speaking to oil companies and railways about redistributing fuel from other parts of Canada to Ontario. He also complemented the Ontario government on its efforts to date. OTA president, David Bradley, said "we’ve known from the outset that the regulatory solution presented challenges for the federal government but we had hoped that they would have been able to find a way to work with oil industry, which created this problem in the first place, to make it happen." "Obviously we are disappointed that the federal government could not, or would not, find a way around this regulatory roadblock despite the support of the provincial government for such a measure. Now we can only hope that the oil industry’s assurances are accurate and that things will stabilize soon. We have no other choice. For now it will be up to every trucker to find their own solution to the fuel shortage." March 2, 2007 *Ontario Government Calls on Ottawa to Take Action on Diesel Fuel Shortage* Ontario Trucking Association welcomes intervention by Province’s Energy Minister and Liberal MP, McTeague (Toronto: March 2, 2007) -- The Ontario Trucking Association is hoping that the Government of Canada will heed the call from Ontario’s Minister of Energy, Dwight Duncan, for urgent action to relieve the current shortage of truck diesel fuel by allowing truckers to use a brand of diesel fuel which the industry used for more than a decade until this past October and is still used in off-road applications. In a letter to federal environment minister, John Baird, Duncan states that "Ontario’s economy is heavily dependent on trucking, and the trucking industry is solely dependent on diesel fuel." He went on to say that temporarily allowing the trucking industry to use this fuel "would significantly reduce the negative impact on the Ontario economy arising from the current situation." Duncan is in Victoria today, along with federal natural resources minister, Gary Lunn, at a meeting of the country’s energy ministers, and is expected to drive home Ontario’s concerns. Last night, Dan McTeague, Liberal Member of Parliament for Pickering-Scarborough East, wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, adding his support to OTA’s request "given the importance of surface transportation to the Canadian economy, and in recognizing the temporary nature attached to the request." David Bradley, president of the trucking association says he welcomes the support of the provincial government and federal MP’s like Dan McTeague. "Ontario gets it, members of parliament get it, now we need support from the Government of Canada," he said. Bradley says the shortage of truck diesel has worsened in the last 48 hours with trucking companies being cut off from deliveries to their underground storage tanks, with retail pumps being closed throughout the province and fuel being rationed to a quarter of a tank. "There are millions of litres of fuel that is perfectly suitable to use by trucks sitting in reserve, that we need temporary access to, but it’s not happening," says Bradley. "It’s frustrating when you consider the risk to the economy." The problem, according to Bradley, appears to be that the federal government is to use his words "in a regulatory straight-jacket." The government says it does not have the authority to suspend the current regulation governing truck diesel fuel standards, even on a temporary basis. That would require a regulatory change which under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act would take a minimum of 60 days to pass. Another way would be for the government to introduce legislation as it did recently to end the CN Rail strike. However, given that MP’s started their March break today, that is not likely to happen. Or, the federal government could take a soft approach to enforcing the regulation for a short period of time until the fuel supply situation stabilizes, and assure the oil companies they would not be prosecuted for selling the off-road fuel to the truckers. Bradley says, "there must be a way; it’s an intolerable situation we are facing with trucks roaming around looking to find fuel to put in their tanks," he says. "It is quite incredible that an industry the size of the oil producers could allow this situation to occur. It is equally bizarre that in post-9/11 world, after the supposed emergency planning of the past six years, that the economy should be exposed to such a risk." "It’s amazing how resilient the trucking industry has been under very trying circumstances. We all hope we have hit bottom and that for everyone’s sake fuel inventories will improve soon. But right now I would have to say that is just wishful thinking because we have seen nothing so far that would suggest next week won’t be as bad as this week has been or worse." March 1, 2007 *Ontario Government Announces Temporary Exemptions to Fuel Haulers’ Hours of Service Regulations to Respond to Fuel Shortage* OTA still waiting for decision on temporary access to off-road diesel (Toronto: March 1, 2007) -- The Government of Ontario has announced that it is implementing temporary exemptions from specific elements of Ontario Regulation 555/06, Hours of Service, to petroleum haulers until the fuel supply situation in the province stabilizes. These exemptions will be provided to petroleum haulers transporting gasoline, diesel fuel or home heating oil. Effective immediately a driver and operator are exempt from the following requirements of Ontario Regulation 555/06: 9(3), 11(2)(d)(iii) or 11(3)(d)(iii) in respect to the elapsed time accumulated; 13(1) in respect to the mandatory 24 hours off-duty time in the preceding 14 days; and 13(2) in respect to not driving after accumulating 70 hours on-duty time in a 7 day period. If the commercial motor vehicle is being used, to transport gasoline, diesel fuel, or home heating fuel, or to return after transporting those products, if the vehicle is empty and travelling to a location to receive another load of gasoline, diesel fuel, or home heating fuel. This exemption will remain in place until March 15, 2007. David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association welcomed the announcement saying that "it should help ensure that the fuel haulers don’t run out of hours before making their deliveries. We anticipate that there will be long line-ups at the fuel loading depots for the next while." As of this morning, Bradley said that the fuel shortage for truckers has not eased and that yesterday one of the major diesel fuel suppliers told its customers that the situation went from "good" to "critical" in 24 hours yesterday. OTA has been in discussion with both the federal and provincial governments regarding the association’s proposal to allow truckers to temporarily use low-sulphur railway grade off-road diesel until the supply situation stabilizes. Bradley says that OTA has been informed that there are millions of litres of this fuel available and that the Nanticoke refinery, even at low capacity, can produce this grade of diesel fuel much quicker than regular truck diesel fuel. OTA is still awaiting federal environment minister, John Baird’s decision. "It’s complicated, and legislation might be required, but where there’s a will ...," says Bradley. Archived National Issues