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.
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
I am answering your questions, sir.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
This is a waste of time.
Did you see the transportation-related regulations before they were issued, after the Emergencies Act was invoked?
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Did you speak with someone in charge at the Minister of Public Safety's office about the regulations?
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
What, then, did you talk about with the people at the Minister of Public Safety's office?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
Do you mean with regard to the pandemic?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
What I was discussing at the time was the application of multiple changes—if you go through our website— that involved COVID-19 protocols. There were weekly conversations, sometimes daily conversations, about how truck drivers and loads cross the border, sir.
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
At this time, before I hand the chair over, I do want to take a chair's prerogative. Mr. Laskowski. I know that this can feel perhaps a little bit adversarial. It doesn't have to be.
I do want to remind you, sir, that this is not like any other committee that you've attended here in the House of Commons. This is dealing with the Emergencies Act, which is significant in terms of its precedence, the impact, and the national importance to security.
I would ask, sir, that when you finish this meeting, you consider working with your administration to provide the answers to the questions that were put to you. The names are germane. They might not be to you, sir, but to this committee they are. I would ask for your co-operation in providing them in the fullness of detail, notwithstanding the fact that you probably don't recall them offhand tonight. You can submit them through the clerks.
I do want to again emphasize the importance of this committee and its nature, for which your candour and honesty are required.
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
I've given you my candour and my honesty, Mr. Chair, and I'd be happy to co-operate. If you give me specific topics for whom I spoke to, I'd be happy to answer that.
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
Okay.
At this point, I will hand the chair back over and I'll proceed with my round.
Bloc
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
Thank you.
Through you, Mr. Chair, to Mr. Laskowski, I might go a little bit slower for the purpose of the meeting.
Out of your total membership, how many drivers on the road, coast to coast to coast, does the alliance represent? I want to get a sense of that.
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
We represent over 5,000 trucking companies across Canada.
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
If you were to do an estimate, how many drivers would that potentially encompass?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
It's 5,000 companies. I have my senior VP here.
Geoff, what would you say, on average, was an estimate in terms of the drivers in that membership?
Geoffrey Wood Senior Vice-President, Policy, Canadian Trucking Alliance
Let's say it's between 100,000 and 120,000 drivers.
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
There were 85,000 to 95,000 vaccinated drivers still working day in and day out during the crisis this country was in throughout COVID-19, delivering goods and services to Canadians across the country; and 5,000 to 10,000 drivers who, through personal choice, decided not to get vaccinated. By round numbers, is that about right, Mr. Wood?
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
Okay. That's perfect.
Mr. Laskowski, I don't know if you had anecdotal feedback on this. I'm trying to get a sense from you, sir—you alluded to this in questioning from Mr. Naqvi—about how this movement that was supposed to be about truckers got co-opted by people way outside the industry, who clearly, overwhelmingly, were not in support of the actual sector—the 95,000 people who did the right thing and kept working.
Did you get any feedback around how many active members—actual truckers represented within the alliance—were actively involved in these blockades and convoys? Did they make themselves known to your association in any way, shape or form?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
No, they didn't. As I stated before and in a public way, very few people who were associated with these things were associated with our industry. You can see by the types of vehicles that were at the blockades
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
That's right.
We're going to probably spend quite some time unpacking what happened and hopefully responding to some of the recommendations that you all put forward in terms of ensuring that the proper consultation happens across all levels of governments so that this doesn't happen again. I think you were quite right in your assessment that even if it isn't an Emergencies Act response, there needs to be something with higher specificity around our borders and infrastructures that might protect them from these types of processes.
You mentioned you had spoken to different levels of government. I think there was some confusion between you and the previous speaker, my colleague Mr. Fortin. I'm going to ask you specifically this, sir: What role did your alliance have in communicating with your provincial counterparts in the Ministry of Transportation for Ontario?
President, Canadian Trucking Alliance
We deal with all levels of government, including Ontario. Our members out in British Columbia and Alberta—