Evidence of meeting #17 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was drivers.
A video is available from Parliament.
Bloc
As an Individual
I see a lot of them, in any case. I can say that I see them from quite a distance, because the logo is easy to recognize. At one point, I left the offices of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, and there was a Safex truck right in front of me at the traffic lights. Everyone I know sends me photos of them. We started looking into it, and it started to stink.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Ms. Poulin, would you like to add anything?
Accounting Technician, As an Individual
After the accident, we searched for answers, so we spent a lot of time browsing various websites, especially that of the Commission des transports du Québec. We found some very interesting information about Groupe Verville Intermodal.
Once, it appeared before the Commission des transports du Québec, which downgraded its safety rating to “conditional” when it should have been “unsatisfactory”, and the commission should have grounded the trucks.
The group appeared before the transport commission and lied about the names of the employees who worked for it.
We can see that the employees are not trained to carry out safety checks, so there is a serious problem from the outset.
The majority of offences relate to stolen vehicles. However, there are no police reports, and we are unable to provide information to the commission.
Their mechanic is a foreign worker who does not have a permit to work in Quebec.
The group appeared before the commission with all these lies, but its rating was left at “conditional”.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you, Ms. Poulin and Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.
Mr. Groleau, you have the floor for five minutes.
Conservative
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
I would like to come back to you, Ms. Poulin, to finish the discussion we started earlier.
Earlier, you proposed some fairly concrete solutions, such as the creation of a national driver’s licence registry and a squad for mechanical inspections.
Could you give us more details on that?
Accounting Technician, As an Individual
Creating a registry would certainly help. That said, when there is a fatal accident, why not go to the company involved, shut down all the trucks and carry out checks? Fifty people could work in this squad, and it would take three and a half days to do everything. First, they would check to see if everyone has a valid licence, because many people drive trucks even though they are banned from driving. Next, they would check to see if drivers have completed training.
At the same time, why not have drivers take a short road test, for example, to see if they are able to reverse the truck? My husband is a farmer, and we have friends who receive deliveries. Out of five drivers, only one is able to reverse the truck. The others all stop in the street, park, and the first driver gets out to reverse all the trucks, because the other drivers are unable to do so. That’s the reality.
When the squad arrives to check whether the employees are able to do their safety rounds and whether the trucks are in good condition, it could also do mechanical inspections and a short driving test. If the drivers are unable to reverse a truck, they are not able to drive it, in my opinion. That’s the bottom line.
Conservative
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
You spoke to all the authorities and to all levels of government, from municipal to provincial to federal. Who do you think is responsible for the accident in which your daughter died?
Accounting Technician, As an Individual
I wrote the answer down somewhere, because I found it quite good and significant.
I'll talk about responsibility. I would like the chance to finish my thoughts, Mr. Chair.
It's a collective failure, and this includes me. The same goes for the accidents that affected Ms. Séguin and Ms. Boucher. Society failed to protect them. When I say “society”, I mean everyone. People who use Driver Inc. drivers know that a 40% price difference must come from somewhere. When we buy something on Amazon and the price difference is significant, we know that the item won't last as long. Can we keep in mind that, when we purchase transportation and the price is significantly different from the price of another supplier, truck maintenance and training may fall short, since this is the only area, in addition to insurance, where companies can cut costs?
People see absurd situations on the road. For example, they see drivers watching movies on Netflix. They film it and put it on Facebook. Thank you, but can they also call the police? Maybe a phone call will stop the offending driver from causing an accident and killing someone 40 kilometres down the road.
We also need to consider the matter of who handles the tests to issue driver's licences. We've had many calls from people working at the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, or SAAQ, who say that it makes no sense to issue all these licences. Why don't they speak up? They're calling me to say that they're giving licences to incompetent people and that they have no choice but to do so. I understand that these people need their paycheques, but why hasn't anyone raised their hand before?
The Commission des transports du Québec should be stricter. Highway controllers are sometimes a bit too lenient, or they lack the necessary tools to arrest offenders. Why aren't drivers who carry a logbook that doesn't match their driver's licence placed under arrest? The federal government has asked for this in its recommendations. Do we realize that these drivers may have been on the road for 90 consecutive hours, but that the controllers can't verify this? These drivers aren't arrested. The controllers don't have the right to arrest them. This gets people killed.
As of today, if the government fails to take action, I consider that all its members will have blood on their hands when the next tragedy occurs. Everyone will be responsible for this accident. We now know what's going on and we're shedding light on these matters. If you do nothing and change nothing, you'll be responsible for the next deaths.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you, Ms. Poulin.
Before I give the floor to Ms. Nguyen, do I have the unanimous consent of the committee to ask Ms. Poulin a question? I have only one question for her.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Ms. Poulin, you said that you spoke with the people who issue driver's licences. You said that one person or several people told you that they had no choice but to issue licences.
Can you elaborate on this? I wonder how this is possible. If a person doesn't deserve a driver's licence, why do these people need to issue one? Can you explain this to our committee? We aren't on the ground, so we don't know how this works.
Accounting Technician, As an Individual
I'll talk about Quebec, because that's where I'm from.
First, I gather that the people from the SAAQ told me that, when people show up at the SAAQ with a driver's licence from their country, the employees aren't able to check whether it's actually a driver's licence. From what the employees told us, they often don't understand. It says “driver's licence”, or it's written in another language that nobody understands. Apparently, the employees don't ask too many questions.
Then, even if these people don't understand English or French, the SAAQ employees help them pass their theory test by practically giving them the answers.
Lastly, the SAAQ employees told me that, when they go out on the road for the practical test, they give a great deal of leeway. These people come from other countries, so the employees absolutely want them to have their licences and to contribute to Quebec society.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Ms. Nguyen, the floor is yours.
You have five minutes for your line of questioning, please.
January 26th, 2026 / 11:55 a.m.
Liberal
Chi Nguyen Liberal Spadina—Harbourfront, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank the witnesses for joining us. You're very brave to share your stories with us. We really need to hear directly from you, so thank you for joining us today.
You'd like us to play a stronger leadership role. Transport Canada sets the guidelines, and we set the rules around training, etc. What more would you like us to do? How do we step up?
How do we encourage the provinces to work on that enforcement piece? It's not our place; it's Quebec and Ontario that do the enforcement pieces and the licences, but what does it look like for us to be able to ask the provinces to work better with us?
As an Individual
Of the 10 requests made by Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, only the tax issue was addressed. Yet, in my opinion, anything to do with passports and the privilege of travelling should take priority. That said, I particularly like requests 1, 2, 5 and 6.
When I did a radio interview, I hoped that the government would address at least one other request. Was I optimistic to think that at least one of these requests would likely be addressed? Today, I dare to hope that realistically four requests can be addressed. I would choose requests 1, 2, 4 and 6.
Accounting Technician, As an Individual
I don't know about the best solution. However, the government introduced mandatory training that the provinces had to enforce. Why doesn't it take this approach for the rest of the work? Right from the start, drivers must have a minimum amount of training. The government need only do the same for the rest. It should think about everything, including fines.
How much is the fine for drivers who fail to test their brakes and who run the risk of rolling downhill and killing someone? It's $500. That's the cost of not testing their brakes. It's extremely dangerous. Even if drivers do the test, the brakes can freeze up. If they don't know how to drive, the drivers use the brakes going downhill and they don't release them, so the brakes freeze up and stop working.
The federal government must completely overhaul all aspects of transportation, including safety, training, fines and licences. Many associations are pointing out the issues involved. Many people want to work and to get involved in this project. The government should accept them all. They'll come and help. I'll come. That's what I've been saying all along. Tomorrow morning, I want to tell myself, first, that this accident didn't happen in vain and, second, that something will come out of all this and that the roads will be safer. We just want to help the government, but nobody wants to hear from us. That's the reality.
Entrepreneur, As an Individual
Mr. Chair, I think it would be better to have one Canada-wide law rather than different laws for each jurisdiction, with Quebec doing whatever it wants with its own laws.
Let me give you an example. In Quebec, a boy was caught driving at 188 kilometres per hour. He was fined $1,800, according to a report on TVA Nouvelles. When I was driving through Ontario, I read on a billboard that the fine for that speeding offence was $10,000.
Why shouldn't road safety be federally regulated so that all provinces follow the same laws and everything is clear, straightforward and specific? Whether in Quebec, Manitoba or elsewhere in Canada, everyone would follow the same laws. The use of cellphones while driving would be banned for all possible vehicles, because—according to what I've read—it's the main source of distracted driving that leads to fatalities on the roads.
If we had a nationwide highway safety act, there would be no confusion. There would be no reason to say that the law is different if you're in Ontario.
I'm sorry, but the person who caused the death of two of my family members committed 43 offences. His logbook was not filled out and his required sleep hours were not obeyed when he left Brampton, Ontario.
I'm told that, in Quebec, everyone is responsible for this accident. The deaths would have had to take place in Ontario for us to have any recourse. Does that make sense to you? That is what Marc Bellemare, the former Quebec justice minister, told me himself.
There should be a Canada-wide law that treats everyone the same way.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you, Ms. Séguin.
Thank you very much, Ms. Nguyen.
Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Boucher spoke about this earlier, but I'll expand on the subject.
In October, I believe, we submitted 10 requests regarding the trucking industry to the federal government, which was supposed to follow up. Unfortunately, the government only acted on one of them.
Given the time that has passed since then, and given the testimony we heard at committee, we could add further requests.
Have you had a chance to look at those requests? Are there some that you would like to emphasize?
Ms. Poulin, would you like to start?
Accounting Technician, As an Individual
I looked at them closely. The one that struck me the most was the one where people talked about logbooks that are not associated with driver's licences. How can you take a truck off the road when you can't check whether the driver is still fit to drive?
The federal government introduced the requirement to keep a logbook. However, if a driver doesn't enter their name in that logbook and another driver drives the truck, there's nothing anyone can do. It makes no sense.
The simplest and quickest thing to do, which could save lives, would be to arrest the offending drivers, take away their right to drive and seize their truck, regardless of where they are in Canada.