Transport Committee on Oct. 28th, 2025

[Cecilia Omole]

Yes. We did do a report in 2024, which Maximilien referenced. A third party did that analysis for us. We're happy to share that as well. It's available on our website.

Essentially, what they determined was that, indeed, yes, those who had fewer years of training and fewer years of driving experience were more likely to end up in accidents. They did all that analysis. We have the data in our report to show that trend. Certainly, we can see that those individuals who have less experience are far more likely to get into an accident. We were able to tie that directly to the quality of the training they received.

We did not look specifically at potential language barriers, for instance. However, that is something we would not be surprised to see if that were the case, because that can impact one's ability to understand road signage and road comportment as well.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Does insurance fall more under provincial jurisdiction than federal?

What is your role in this area and what is the role of the federal government? How can we help you?

[Cecilia Omole]

From our perspective and for our membership, we represent the majority of property and casualty insurers in Canada. We're very pleased to see that Parliament is looking into this issue. It's something that we've been talking about for a number of years in consultation with other trucking stakeholders, whether they are the carriers or the schools. We've all kind of been on the same page as it pertains to these issues that have been flagged.

Certainly, from our perspective, we feel strongly that training is the biggest line of defence right now. When you have safer drivers on the road, you're more likely to have less accidents and fewer claims and, in general, members of the public will also feel safe. From our perspective and for our members who represent the insurance sector, we'd like to see government harmonize the training regimes across the provinces and territories.

We've seen right now that there are a number that have implemented mandatory entry-level training programs, or some schema related to mandatory entry-level training programs. At this point in time, it's very fragmented. There are different levels of hours of instruction, for example, and different hours as they pertain to the types of modules that the individuals would be studying. We'd like to see some greater consistency across Canada.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Thank you.

If I have time left, I would like to ask one last question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

You have one minute left.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

As you see, I am very concerned about the terms that apply to insurance. To have insurance coverage, drivers have to have a legal licence that recognizes what they are qualified for. I think it is very important that drivers follow the rules that apply in their province. It has to be done legally and within a specified time.

What is your role when it comes to determining whether a driver has a licence and whether the licence is valid?

[Cecilia Omole]

As it pertains to the validation of information, insurers go based off of what they are provided by their clients and by the insured specifically. If they're receiving falsified information, it is very difficult for them to have a good response to underwriting the risk. Certainly, they've detected fraud. We've spoken to some of our members, and they've seen it already. We would want to see better quality information being provided.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Lauzon.

Next is Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.

You have the floor for six minutes.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the witnesses for being with us today. This study is very important to me.

I think there really is a cancer in the haulage industry, and I think that has already been voiced by a number of people who have testified here at the committee.

I am going to start with a question for Mr. Cadieux from the Association du camionnage du Québec.

You said earlier that you had had an opportunity to meet with representatives of the government in Ottawa on several occasions.

Could you give us an approximate number? Have you had five meetings, or 10 or 150? For how many years have you been having those meetings? Maybe you also have a list.

[Marc Cadieux]

Sir, I didn't bring the list today, but I can say it is a long one and it goes back to 2012. The meetings have been primarily at the provincial level. On the federal side, we started our efforts more than six or seven years ago. We ourselves have made efforts as the Quebec association but also with our federation, the Canadian Trucking Alliance, whose president is here today.

So I can say there have been multiple meetings, under governments of every stripe.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Right.

Let's focus on the federal government, since that is the order of government we work in.

You say that you have been talking to the federal government about this situation for at least seven years. To my knowledge, these meetings have produced virtually no results or changes in federal government policy.

Could you tell us what answer you got, or what kind of feedback you were given? What justification was given for this failure to act?

[Marc Cadieux]

In fact, I will have to say, of course, that Ms. Freeland announced a budget of $26.3 million at Employment and Social Development Canada, particularly to have specialized teams to do investigations into misclassification.

You have opened a door for me. I will let you know right off the bat that I also want the government to restore the money that was provided, so that team can continue to do its work, work that was excellent, in my opinion. The person in charge of that team is Mélanie Beaulieu.

She has come to meet with us, and we meet regularly with her team. She even came to see us at our convention. For two or three years, she has contacted our members to explain the work done by Employment and Social Development Canada. It started out slow, because we obviously had to detect all the schemes and ways of doing things. Also, there were restrictions in certain jurisdictions that did not allow us to take an audit and investigation process further.

I can't say that nothing has been done, but I can say that there is still a lot more to do.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

If I am not mistaken, that measure was announced in the 2022 fall economic statement.

[Marc Cadieux]

That's right.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Here we are in 2025, and since then, the government has given no further indication on this subject.

Tell me if I'm wrong, but the situation on the ground has not improved since that time.

[Marc Cadieux]

Cases are handled confidentially. However, in light of the discussions we have, I can tell you that there actually are performance indicators on the table when it comes to the number of cases opened.

Certainly, as long as all remedies have not been exhausted and there is no conviction, the results of those investigations will not be released. However, I would sincerely like it to be possible to do more, because it seemed to us that the financial data were not very appealing when we started talking about these cases.

Right now, we are talking about loss of life, of course. That is on a whole different level. I think that what my colleagues have said—

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

I have another question for you.

A bit earlier, at another meeting of this committee, we heard from people who testified in favour of the Driver Inc. model. They told us this model was perfectly legitimate, companies are using it, and the ones that operate in the traditional way were unable to adapt to the new circumstances we are in today.

Are your members people who are just sitting there and not adapting to change?

[Marc Cadieux]

At the ACQ, the Association du camionnage du Québec, we do not use the Rand formula. Some very active members get onto me when things are not progressing fast enough.

All the companies that belong to the ACQ operate fairly and pay their contributions on their employees' pay. I can tell you they are very aware of the problem.

Right now, the trucking industry is obviously going through some very hard times, in economic terms, but there is another one that is very serious.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you.

I have a question for the representatives of the IBC, the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

You referred to certain data relating to the increase in the number of claims, but also in the number of accidents. I know that there was a short paragraph in the report published on your website that addressed this data, and it was pretty concerning.

Just now, you said that the number of accidents or claims was rising faster than the number of trucks on the road. You provided figures.

Would it be possible to provide that data to the committee so we could take it into account in the proposals we will be making?

For example, we would like to get data by province or about the ratio of the number of insured trucks to the number of accidents.

[Cecilia Omole]

The report we mentioned earlier is available on our website, and I'm happy to provide that after this meeting. It talks a lot about the very information that you referenced.

As I mentioned earlier, we don't have a breakdown per province. This is based off of the General Insurance Statistical Agency, and it only has certain jurisdictions. We are happy to provide that information. There is a lot of analysis captured within it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.

We'll gladly take that from you to help our analysts put together a report. Thank you.

Next, we'll turn it over to Mr. Albas.

You have five minutes, sir.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of our witnesses, both here and online, for being here and sharing your expertise with our committee.

I'm going to start with a quick question for Mr. Cadieux.

In regard to abandoned vehicles that are towed, I understand there's a significant amount of money owed to towing companies in Quebec. Is that correct?

[Marc Cadieux]

Yes. The association representing the towing industry has close to $3 million in unpaid bills where they had to act.... As you know, they often have to act on the exclusive network of roads under the authority of our province's national police. They do have to react, and often they are not paid.

I would like to also state, at the same time, that we are facing a lot of these companies that are not insured at the time of an accident. They subscribe to an insurance policy, but then they cancel it. They're running the rest of the year with their insurance slip as being valid for a year, but we have no way, with our controllers and our national police, to verify that. This is what I was just talking about with my colleague.

We would have to establish certain networks to get information when they are towed away. Also, some of those trucks are abandoned in the yards of those wrecking companies. They are not claimed, and you cannot dispose of them for a year. You must also pay all the dues to extract all the contaminants from those trucks in order to be able to send them to the scrapyard, so you've lost money on your bill to tow the truck and you're also paying to get rid of it.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Thank you, sir. I appreciate the answer.

I'll bring this to you, Mr. Roy. You talked in your second recommendation about having some sort of real-time verification for things like insurance. Could you explain how that might solve the problem Mr. Cadieux has raised?

[Maximilien Roy]

I can start.