Evidence of meeting #28 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 41st Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was regulation.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
There aren't really any specific technologies that we promote. Primarily they're tools for getting specific jobs done, and there are a lot of specialty products within our members' product range. It depends on the job, really.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
All right.
The purpose of our study is new transportation technologies. What do you have to say about that?
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
The things I look at among the technologies that will be involved in reducing greenhouse gas and improving fuel economy are twofold.
Conservative
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
One is having aerodynamic treatments put on a broader range of vehicles that are at least running at highway speeds; in other words, really on the trailer side—hauling freight, hauling goods. On the other side, on the vocational truck side, it's dealing with things such as vehicle idling. A truck—for instance, a cement mixer sitting on a work site—is still having to run the engine for a significant period of time, not to run the truck but to run the equipment. It's a question of moving ahead some of those technologies.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
All right. Let's start with the aerodynamics. What aerodynamic technologies are your members producing?
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
The membership is not producing; however, there are those who are installing other equipment, such as side skirts, fairings for the gap between tractor and trailer, and also boat tails—those types of things. However, there are some stumbling blocks there across the provinces.
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
The stumbling blocks involving boat tails are twofold. One is the length of the vehicle, in some cases. With a 53-foot trailer, there's only allowance right now for a few extra feet to put on a boat tail, which is essentially a treatment that goes out the back of the vehicle.
Conservative
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
No. Vehicle sizes and weights are controlled essentially by the TAC, the Transportation Association of Canada, and the provinces—specifically, really, the provinces, for size and weight dimensions.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
You need to be able to lengthen your trailers to add this aerodynamic technology.
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
Typically, if you want the full length, which is probably most effective, you would reduce your trailer length, which reduces your hauling capacity.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
I'm sorry. I don't understand. What is the obstacle to what you want to do here?
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
The obstacle is the allowable overall length. Either the allowance has to be broadened to allow for more length to get the optimal situation, or if you want to use that, you end up reducing the size of the trailer—going, say, to a 48-foot trailer and getting the full length that you would like to get the optimum. But then you reduce the amount of volume and load you're able to carry, because the size of the trailer is reduced.
Any of this boat tail is not a load-carrying item.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
I guess what I'm asking is whether there is anything you need from us that would help you with the technologies you and your members want to either fabricate or install.
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
To be honest, there isn't really anything specific that I can say we need at this time.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB
I appreciate your being here today.
I was unfortunately called away just briefly during your presentation, but I caught most of it.
I understand you represent largely those who make the trailer bodies and some of the parts for the trailers. Do you also represent those who make the tractor part—the Kenworths, the Macks, those kinds...or more on the trailers?
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
As I said, they are members of our association; however, they are primarily in a role as suppliers to our core members, who are those who actually turn those vehicles out—not so much tractors. Tractors typically will come out of the OEM ready to do the job: they will have the fifth wheel attached; they will have a lot of aerodynamic equipment already installed.
Our membership is usually on the vocational side. When I say “vocational”, I mean trucks for construction, garbage trucks, cement mixers, etc. They take the chassis from the OEM and then install a body. The challenge comes, in many cases involving these technologies, such as natural gas and other alternate fuel solutions, in that the real estate along the chassis for putting in that equipment is getting smaller. So there are challenges. They are working on dealing with those challenges.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB
So largely you're saying that many of your members are in the business of conversion of vehicles to suit specific purposes and you're trying to find ways to gain efficiencies in fuel economy and this kind of thing. Is that it?
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
That's it exactly, yes.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB
Okay.
What sorts of services or advocacy does your association specifically do on behalf of those members, then?
Executive Director, Canadian Transportation Equipment Association
Most of our activity to date, over the last 15 or 20 years, has been working with Transport Canada and with the provinces on issues of vehicle weights and dimensions, particularly in Ontario, where there is quite a spectrum of vehicle allowances. Then, with Transport Canada there are various safety rules that apply to those vehicles, and we work closely with the membership to understand their requirements or obligations, and in some cases we work with Transport Canada to figure out solutions that allow these companies to meet their requirements.
