CTA urges Ottawa to speed up trusted employer program for foreign drivers
The alliance says only vetted, compliant carriers should be allowed to recruit drivers internationally, following last week's federal immigration overhaul.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is pressing the federal government to move faster on a mandatory trusted employer program that would limit international recruitment of truck drivers to carriers with clean safety and labour records.
The Oct. 20 statement responds to a federal immigration policy overhaul announced the week before.
Immigration still needed, CTA says
CTA president and CEO Stephen Laskowski said immigration remains essential for long-haul trucking as large numbers of drivers retire. The alliance pointed to data showing that nearly half of young people are unwilling to take jobs that require regular overnight shifts or long periods away from home.
"This is not a trucking problem; it is a nationwide structural workforce challenge," Laskowski said.
Closing loopholes
CTA says current immigration programs have been abused by some carriers working with unlicensed consultants and fraudulent business setups. It describes some of these schemes as human trafficking that exploits foreign nationals and undercuts compliant fleets. The alliance also links them to labour misclassification such as the "Driver Inc." model.
Under CTA's proposal, only thoroughly vetted carriers that comply with safety and labour rules would be allowed to use international recruitment programs.
The alliance is part of a working group with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) designing the model, but wants the process sped up.
"We do not need fewer safeguards; we need smarter, more rigid ones," said Jonathan Blackham, CTA's director of public affairs.
Provincial anti-trafficking work
CTA noted that two of its provincial members, the Manitoba Trucking Association and the Ontario Trucking Association, have partnered with the Joy Smith Foundation to build industry-specific resources and raise awareness of trafficking and exploitation in trucking.
What it means for fleets
No timeline for a trusted employer program has been announced. If adopted as CTA proposes, carriers' safety and labour compliance records would become a gate for hiring drivers from abroad.