TruckNewsTalk

Changes to Ontario's truck driving schools: Cleaning up the industry or just adding red tape? Ontario's commercial driver training industry is under intense scrutiny following a scathing Auditor General's report exposing serious shortcomings in training and oversight. But will the proposed reforms actually improve the quality of new drivers? In this episode of Truck News Talk, Jim Park speaks with Anna Zaiats, campus manager at Canada Trust Truck Driving School, located in Concord Ontario, about questionable training practices, ineffective audits, and proposed instructor certification requirements. They also explore how changes to immigration and licensing rules, along with tougher U.S. English-language proficiency enforcement, are reshaping the pool of prospective truck drivers. Are regulators finally getting serious about cleaning up the industry, or are legitimate schools simply facing more bureaucratic hurdles?  

Bureaucracy VS Driving Schools How does the trucking industry fix entry level driving training? The short comings of our current ELT programs are well known. The bureaucratic inertia the stands in the way of a proper fix is well understood too. Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, offers a refreshing look at the source of the problems and some ideas on how to fix them. Mike says, "MELT was never intended to be a best practice; it was intended to be a minimum of what had to be achieved." "But in a price-sensitive market, schools that teach more comprehensive programs, cannot compete with schools that cut corners. That's where enforcement comes in, but that's almost non-existent."  As Mike explains in this episode, there's no single-stroke solution to this problem. Improvements are once again being discussed, but does the political will exist to make them happen?  We talk to jim next right after this message from Howes Products makers of Diesel Defender, a diesel Fuel Lubricator & Injector cleaner with advanced IDX4 Detergent

Do you really know what you're pumping into your fuel tank? The sign says diesel, but that doesn't mean the fuel coming out of every pump is the same. Refiners must meet certain standards, including cetane rating and sulfur content. But other characteristics that can have a real impact on a truck's operation — including cloud point, cold filter plugging point and suspended water — can vary considerably.   Howes Products recently tested diesel fuel samples collected at locations across the U.S. and Canada and found some significant differences. In this episode, Howes chemist Jed Talbot explains what those variations mean, how they can affect fuel-system performance and reliability, and why the diesel you buy in one place may behave very differently from the fuel you buy somewhere else.   Full disclosure: Howes Products is a sponsor of this podcast. This episode is not a paid promotion for Howes Products; the discussion focuses on the company's fuel-testing results and what they may mean for truck operators.

Highway traffic volumes across much of Northern Ontario have remained relatively flat or even declined over the past decade or so, but those stats mask an important change. Heavy truck traffic has increased both in absolute numbers and as a proportion of vehicles on the road. The volume of trucks making their way across Highways 11 and 17 are bound to increase further as Canada seeks to expand domestic trade and as mining and critical minerals extraction operations get underway in earnest up in the so-called Ring of Fire region. We need a more reliable highway network in the north, one that's resilient to weather and collision-induced road closures and one that's safer for all road users but that's monumental task.  It's 1600 kilometers from North Bay to the Manitoba border through rock cuts and forests, swamps and muskeg. This week's guest, Mark Wilson, believes the so-called 2 plus 1 highway configuration is a more expedient alternative to full four-lane twinning while promising the same safety benefits but at a considerably lower cost. Mark is a retired Canadian registered safety professional with a 30-year career in occupational safety as a trainer and program developer. He's currently serving as a counselor for the city of Temiskaming Shores, formerly New Liskeard, Ontario. Mark recently traveled to Sweden to study that country's pioneering work in 2 plus 1 highways and to Ireland as well, where they're in widespread use already. Listen to Jim Park's conversation with Mark Wilson. Thanks to Howes Products, makers of Diesel Defender, a diesel fuel lubricator and injector cleaner with advanced IDX4 detergent.

OWNER OPERATORS – BEWARE THE TAXMAN This is interesting, and confusing. Trucking industry people happy to learn earlier this year that the Canada Revenue Agency would finally crack down on personal service businesses known as, Driver Inc. However, we learned in July that CRA was also targeting incorporated owner-operators – you know…the people who actually own their trucks and pay for fuel, maintenance, and other legitimate expenses.   Why are they doing this? It goes directly against previously published guidance from CRA. Scott Taylor along with James Menzies of TruckNews.com, broke the story of CRA's misplaced and aggressive action against owner operators. CRA is disallowing all the owner-operators' legitimate expenses, leaving some of Taylor's This week Jim Park talked to Scott Taylor Scott Taylor the vice-president of Transport Financial Services Group. Thank to our sponsor, Howes Products, makers of Diesel Defender, a diesel Fuel Lubricator & Injector cleaner with advanced IDX4 Detergent  You can read more details in the pages of Truck News Magazine CRA's own guidance appears at odds with trucking PSB audits, critics say CRA confirms focused trucking PSB crackdown amid concerns over owner-operator reviews CRA crackdown threatens future of incorporated owner-operators