Good morning. Thank you for inviting Teamsters Canada to appear before the committee as it continues its study on the transportation of dangerous goods and safety management systems.
Before I start, on behalf of Teamsters Canada I extend our condolences to the families and friends of Patrice Vincent and Nathan Cirillo. We are so sorry for your loss. Our prayers and wishes for a speedy recovery go to all harmed in any way from the unfortunate incidents. On a personal note, my thanks go to the security and staff on the Hill for keeping us all safe.
Teamsters Canada is a regulated stakeholder of the Canadian Council of Motor Transportation Administrators, CCMTA, as is the Canadian Trucking Alliance. The CCMTA deals with all things road, and the industry is proactive in seeking positive changes that benefit the safety of Canadians, the economy, and the industry. It does not mean that we have not had strongly held differences with the CTA; however, over the years they have been rare. I can only wish other sectors would be as welcoming to working together for the betterment of the transportation sector.
Road transportation is often incorrectly viewed as 18-wheelers, the big rigs. That subsector is part of an expansive sector. Teamsters Canada represents workers who fall within road transportation, though not within the committee's study—brewing, soft drink, buses, and school buses, for example. When applicable within our structures, we provide for trade divisions that include armoured car, dairy and sales drivers, grocery and retail stores, movie-making, and trade shows. Marine transport can also fall within our miscellaneous moniker. More germane to this meeting would be other Teamsters Canada trade divisions: parcel and small packages—that's Canada's couriers—construction and pipeline, including concrete, and the freight and tank haul.
The parcel and small packages division works within the courier industry. These logistics companies are a critical component of the supply chain, and they do carry dangerous goods, properly labelled and with rigorous safety procedures. One of the most interesting issues we've dealt with was the delivery of nuclear medicines to a hospital in Vancouver that was within the exclusion zone created for the 2010 Olympic Games. Small quantities do not necessarily mean we should have no concerns.
The construction and pipeline divisions haul a variety of substances that would fall within the TDG mandate, certainly fuel. Explosives can also be part of the job. The transportation of explosives is strongly regulated. Drivers are required to have Transport Canada security clearances and rate cards. Though we do not believe it is needed at this time, if the need arises, the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act provides for Transport Canada security clearances for drivers of dangerous goods.
The freight and tank haul division would see the bulk of transportation of dangerous goods. To be clear, the most dangerous products, such as chlorine, are transported by rail and not by road.
Full-load trailers carry placards and warnings and are driven by trained professionals. The small quantities of products would lead to more limited harm if accidents were to occur, and that is extremely rare within the memory of the Teamsters Canada freight division leadership. They have no memory of any accident involving a teamster haul. Less-than-load could see smaller quantities of dangerous goods mixed with other products being carried without placards, with more risk to first responders in public.
Tank haul carries a wide array of products. The concern here would be the fuel, gas, diesel, heating oil, jet fuel, propane, butane, and the like. These are mostly carried in baffled tanks with anti-roll ABS technology. The quantities are relatively small. We could come up with scenarios of great damage, and there is also risk, but as I said, we have no memory within the memory of the leadership in Teamster Hall of that happening. To be sure, it's a good story to tell.
SMS, safety management systems, in trucking don't exist. SMS is really a canard, trussed-up deregulation. You do not need regulation for businesses to have an SMS; it's a business best practice. What exists in trucking is industry-created and industry-led training. Shippers in industry ensure that drivers have the requisite knowledge before the fuel leaves the facility. Other programs dealing with safety, rigging, brakes, and on and on are components of what we might think of as an SMS, but not comparable. SMS simply would not work in the trucking sector, and bluntly, it is not needed, because what the sector has developed is working, which is more than we can say of the SMS in other sectors.
Is it perfect? Not at all, but next week the CT and the Teamsters will be attending the CCMTA meetings, working to move the sector forward. It's how the trucking sector works.
Thank you.