AMTA and partners assembled 25,000 free PPE kits for Alberta truck drivers

In June 2020, the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) led an effort to hand out 25,000 free personal protective equipment kits to commercial truck drivers.

Volunteers assembled the kits at the Calgary Stampede Grandstand on June 3, 2020. The masks and gloves were sourced with help from BMO, Women in Supply Chain, UFA, The Gear Centre and others.

AMTA said the kits would be available at six Alberta weigh scales as early as the following afternoon.

"We all know drivers are essential to our supply chain," said Chris Nash, then AMTA president. He said drivers had been hauling throughout the pandemic and needed to be kept safe.

The drive was one of several efforts by associations and governments in spring 2020 to support drivers who kept working while much of the economy was shut down.