Evidence of meeting #82 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was bees.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:45 a.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative John Barlow
Thanks, Mr. Steinley.
We'll now move to Ms. Taylor Roy for six minutes, please.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here and filling in some of the on-road and off-road experiences, and thanks also to the other committee members who have highlighted these difficulties.
My understanding is that these difficulties, these challenges, have always existed. Perhaps climate change and higher temperatures are making them more of an issue now than they were before, but they've always been there.
I'm just wondering on the ELD issue. When the regulations were put in place, they were always there. The only thing that's changed now is that there's electronic monitoring of that. Is that correct, in your view?
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Okay. The regulations were always there, and these issues were not raised as a problem before. Why is that?
9:45 a.m.
President, The Barn Feed & Livestock Co. Inc.
It's because you could stop your paper.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Basically, it was the record-keeping. People could put different things in if they wanted to and not really write down all the same hours that they were.... There was more flexibility in paper record-keeping than there is with the ELDs.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Okay.
A number of things have been raised in terms of the challenges in meeting these regulations. My understanding is that these were put in for the safety of the drivers, the ones you're talking about with the ELDs that we're discussing right now. It's for the safety of the drivers.
There are exemptions available. You can put in extraordinary circumstances that have arisen and have the regulators okay that because of those circumstances. Why do you feel that what is in there currently is not sufficient to account for or to address the kinds of issues that you're bringing up now?
9:45 a.m.
President, The Barn Feed & Livestock Co. Inc.
As far as I'm concerned, these regulations were not put in for the safety of the driver. These regulations were put in because the insurance companies wanted better documentation.
9:45 a.m.
President, The Barn Feed & Livestock Co. Inc.
The safety of the driver was never brought into this. You can't tell me that a machine is going to tell you when to get up in the morning and when to go to bed at night.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
No, I don't think that's the point. I think the point is the number of hours that somebody drives. Insurance companies are concerned because the statistics would show that there are more accidents when people are driving for 19 hours a day versus 12 or 13 hours a day. Even though insurance companies are doing this for monetary reasons, it is the safety that is underlying it.
I understand your point, but what I'm trying to get to is that this is about the safety of the drivers. You operate one of the rest stops, and I understand from previous testimony that there is only one such rest stop on the east-west corridor. Is that correct?
9:45 a.m.
President, The Barn Feed & Livestock Co. Inc.
Yes. There's us, and then there are two little ones.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
There are two little ones. Okay.
Do you think there are enough rest stops for the truckers to be able to get the rest that they need and also for the animal welfare so that the animals have the stops they require?
9:45 a.m.
President, The Barn Feed & Livestock Co. Inc.
The rest stops outside of us are not what you're looking for. The rest stops that they need to get to are the ones before you get to us, because we're on that 36-hour rule.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Got it.
Why do you think there aren't more rest stops, then, if this seems to be a major issue in the planning of the trips or with unforeseen circumstances that make them unable to get to the rest stops that they should be at?
9:45 a.m.
President, The Barn Feed & Livestock Co. Inc.
It's just because of road conditions or accidents or....
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
No, but why aren't there more rest stops like yours? How is it funded?
9:45 a.m.
President, The Barn Feed & Livestock Co. Inc.
It's privately funded. Nobody funded me. I built this business from the ground up.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
The truckers or the companies are paying you for the service.
9:45 a.m.
President, The Barn Feed & Livestock Co. Inc.
Yes, the people who own the cattle pay.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Do you think that having more rest stops along the route would in fact help address this problem?
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Okay. Then it's not a matter of not having a place to safely stop and take care of the animals.
9:50 a.m.
President, The Barn Feed & Livestock Co. Inc.
No, no, you're.... There are two types of rest stops. You're getting them all....