Evidence of meeting #19 for Declaration of Emergency in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was industry.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Yasir Naqvi Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
Sir, what vaccination rate are we talking about among truckers?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
When we were looking at those vaccination rates at the time, it depended on your region, but it was 85% to 90%. Hence, to the previous questions, when CTA estimated the loss, we were correct that it was over 10%. Over 10,000 left the cross-border industry. That was through choice.
Liberal
Yasir Naqvi Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
The rate of 85% to 90% is really in line with what Canadians across the country were doing. That's remarkable. Congratulations.
Liberal
Yasir Naqvi Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
Sir, can you share your concerns, then, when you saw blockades and occupations happening in cities like Ottawa and across the country, and people suggesting they're truckers and they're taking matters into their hands? What, as an alliance, were your thoughts and your engagement and activities during that process?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
We made several statements throughout the crisis against public protests on public highways, as I noted in my opening remarks. They're available up on our website. I could read them all into the record, but I'm sure you want to ask me more questions, as opposed to my reading you back my statements.
Liberal
Yasir Naqvi Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
Let me post a statement that I believe CTA issued on January 29.
It said:
While a number of Canadians are in Ottawa to voice their displeasure over this mandate, it also appears that a great number of these protesters have no connection to the trucking industry and have a separate agenda beyond a disagreement over cross border vaccine requirements. As these protests unfold over the weekend, we ask the Canadian public to be aware that many of the people you see and hear in media reports do not have a connection to the trucking industry.
Do you still stand by that statement of January 29?
Liberal
Yasir Naqvi Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
What was the concern you were facing as an alliance and what were you hearing from those truckers, the 90% of truckers who had vaccinated themselves and wanted to continue working?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
It was a complex issue, and it still is a complex issue in our industry and in society. The vast majority of truck drivers were vaccinated and the vast majority of truck drivers were out doing what they love to do, and that's moving our nation's economy.
Liberal
Yasir Naqvi Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
What was the impact of those blockades on truckers who were vaccinated and were able to legally cross the border to the U.S. and come back?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
If you're stuck behind a blockade, you're stuck behind a blockade. As we noted, some of those blockades lasted days and weeks. That's food; that's water; that's restrooms. It's all the necessities of life. Some were running without their medication, and obviously their livelihood was being impacted as the trucks sat there, so there was a high level of frustration and a high level of impact on the vast majority of truck drivers who were out there, as I mentioned before, moving our nation's economy.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Thank you, Mr. Naqvi. Your time is up.
Thank you, Mr. Laskowski.
Mr. Green, could you kindly take the chair?
Mr. Laskowski, I'd like to continue with you. Can you tell us whether the Canadian Trucking Alliance was consulted before the Emergencies Act was invoked and before all of those regulations and orders were put in place?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
We were in constant contact.
Just so you understand how the alliance works, provincial associations across Canada belong to it. My counterparts throughout Canada who were impacted by these blockades at the borders that I mentioned were in constant contact with their various levels of government, as was I.
Bloc
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
My private conversations are my private conversations, but we were in constant contact with a number of officials and the relevant officials at all levels of government.
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
As I said, those are private conversations, sir.
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
If I could intervene for one second as the chair, I just want to procedurally remind Mr. Laskowski where he is. He's at a committee reviewing the Emergencies Act in the House of Commons.
We do, sir, have the ability to send for documents through either informal or formal ways. I would just ask you to consider co-operating with the questions at hand. Certainly it's not going to put you in any kind of a legal issue to be forthcoming in your answers.
Thank you.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
I'll ask you again, Mr. Laskowski.
Who in the federal government were you in contact with?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
It was CBSA, Health Canada and Transport Canada. Those would be the most relevant agencies, I would say.
Bloc