We have a short, less than two-minute video that one of our members recorded, which illustrates a small but contributing part of the problem. A copy of the video has been sent to the clerk.
In the video, you see 65 trucks lined up and waiting to get into one of the rail yards in Vaughan, Ontario. This is the equivalent length of approximately 40 football fields. These trucks are trying to return empty containers, which are required to facilitate export trade.
It is important to understand that these drivers make their money by moving containers between the rail yards, importers and exporters. As they sit idle, they are losing money. It is hard to recruit new drivers when everyone can see how hazardous a business it’s become. Rising fuel and insurance costs only add to the problem.
The CIFFA member who recorded this told us he had eight drivers in line, and not one got into the yard that day. Their drivers waited in excess of five hours, only to have the gates closed due to terminal congestion.
By the way, this congestion in Vaughan is actually connected to Canada's west coast. Transport Canada put significant pressure on the rail providers, terminal operators and the Port of Vancouver to clear the backlog and ships at anchorage. The rationale was to facilitate the export of grain. We all understand that priority, but the improved flow in Vancouver doesn't indicate that we solved the problems; we just moved them further inland, to both Toronto and Montreal.
Unfortunately, our first suggestion to address workforce shortages is to fix the terrible problems affecting the supply chain.