Ontario trucking groups seek seat on new Canada-Ontario steel task force
OTA and CTOA want carriers at the table as Ottawa and Queen's Park look for ways to cut steel shipping costs under an $8.7-billion action plan.
Two Ontario trucking associations are asking for a voice on the newly created Canada-Ontario Steel Task Force, whose first job is to find ways to lower the cost of shipping steel.
The task force is part of an $8.7-billion Canada-Ontario action plan announced Oct. 21 by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford. The plan targets steel and auto industries hit by tariffs, critical-mineral development and domestic supply chains.
What is in the plan
- A new $5.22-billion Joint Steel Action Fund.
- An additional $2.5 billion for automotive investment.
- Federal matching of Ontario's initial investment of up to $1 billion over three years for road infrastructure serving critical-mineral development in the Ring of Fire region.
OTA wants clarity and a level playing field
The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) said in an Oct. 22 release that it welcomes support for manufacturing but wants to know more about the task force's federal and provincial mandates, who will sit on it, and whether it will look at the whole supply chain or at single modes of transport.
OTA president Stephen Laskowski said the association wants the task force to find efficiencies and regulatory relief that work across industries, "rather than reverting to legacy approaches that favour one mode of transportation over another."
The association says past supply chain programs have sometimes overlooked trucking, and it has asked for early meetings with federal and provincial transportation and economic development officials.
CTOA: follow the freight
The Canada Truck Operators Association (CTOA), which speaks for small and mid-sized carriers and owner-operators, made a similar case. It argues that any effort to cut steel shipping costs should count the first- and last-mile truck moves linking mills, rail terminals, ports and customers.
"This is not about choosing trucks over rail. Canada needs both," said Tej Dulat, CTOA's director of government and public affairs.
CTOA plans to prepare a first- and last-mile trucking cost note for the task force in the coming weeks and has offered to gather input from smaller fleets.
The group also wants tariff-response programs to recognize indirect harm to carriers, such as lower volumes, unbalanced cross-border lanes, more empty kilometres and idle equipment, even when carriers do not pay tariffs themselves. It is calling for a tariff-adjustment pathway for small carriers and owner-operators, bridge financing, and support for investments in fuel efficiency, safety systems and digital tools.
Why it matters
For Ontario fleets that haul steel, the task force's recommendations on shipping costs could shape where freight moves and by which mode. Neither government has yet said whether trucking will be represented.