Transport Committee on Feb. 2nd, 2026

[Linda McAusland]

We have that now for vehicle identification numbers. It's just a way for systems to talk to each other. That's what we'll be looking at. We don't want to own the data or house the data, but we want to provide a venue so that we can, in real time, exchange data across the country.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

It would be very intuitive, then, real-time data.

[Linda McAusland]

That's the intent, yes.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

That's really interesting, because that's something that has come up time and time again. I'm sure you've been watching the testimony—

[Linda McAusland]

Yes.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

—in terms of what recommendations would put forward solutions to address some of the common things.

Mr. Harper, I really appreciate your bringing up the Driver Inc. model, that it's not specifically a newcomer issue, but multiple groups and individuals are taking part in that.

You talked early on in your testimony about the gaps in enforcement. One of the many things that caused my jaw to drop were the number of schools that are providing training, 48 hours' worth of training, and then individuals are going out and are able to drive on Canadian roads. In some cases, that was brought up, I think, from an Ontario witness's perspective.

A year from now, what would you say would be those three, four or five—whatever the case may be—enforcement items that would really improve the situation? I'm cognizant that, in the Driver Inc. model, there needs to be adjustments, and we're doing that as a federal government. More needs to be done.

On the enforcement piece, it seems that from all the other testimony that we've heard, it seems to be quite lacking. The men and women are doing their best, but what could we be doing better today? If we had an infusion of money, an infusion of direction, what would it be?

[Robert Harper]

We talked before about clamping down on the income tax. The ESDC is reviewing who is an employee, and we're already making, hopefully, strides in that regard.

We had an issue a year ago when we brought up some of this and talked to ESDC. When they got a complaint from a particular employee, they would assess the employee—yes, you're supposed to be an employee—but they wouldn't look at any other people in the organization. I think they're changing that, so that has to be done.

Those driving schools really need to be looked at to make sure they're legitimate. When people are giving out licences, they need to make sure that the person is trained to do what they do. In Alberta, they've set up a pathway program with three steps. Step one, you get information that's sort of similar to the MELT. It meets the standards of MELT. Step two, you learn how to drive interprovincially. Before you get an endorsement to drive extraprovincially, you have to do another road test to show that you've met some more standards and improved from when you had your first driving unit. I think those need to happen.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Harper, and thank you, Mr. Kelloway.

Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. McAusland, the traffic controllers came to testify here at committee and told us that they found gaps in the commercial vehicle driver hours of service regulations. For example, if there are multiple users indicated on the electronic logging device and the driver's licence doesn't exactly match the user name, they don't necessarily have the authority to decommission the vehicle for that reason. They think that's a problem.

They also said that they were unable to find out what changes had been made in the system. First, they would like to be able to view the log in read-only mode to know what hours have been logged electronically, and second, they want to be able to see tracked changes or to verify whether changes have been made for legitimate reasons.

I raise these two points because I'd like to know how the regulations are established and how they are voted on.

Does the federal government alone establish them, or is it done in conjunction with the provinces? What authority does the federal government have over them?

[Linda McAusland]

The standards we have are developed by consensus by the board. We have a program committee that owns the specific NSCs, and they come together to make recommendations to the board on those changes. That ultimately goes to the Council of Ministers to get their comfort.

How they're implemented within each province or territory is at the discretion of the province. We are a federated model, so there isn't legislation that guides the NSCs. There isn't a regulatory power. Each province would then take what's within the standard and choose how they would incorporate it into their own regulatory regime.

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

Many times we've also brought up the need for some form of data sharing when it comes to violations and carriers. For example, in the United States, there is a complete registry of carriers that indicates the number of drivers, the number of trucks, the permits and authorizations for the types of transportation they offer.

If this type of registry or document were ever put in place, both for violations and for carriers, or any other type of registry, would your organization, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, naturally have to be in charge of it, or do you see this registry being set up in another way?

[Linda McAusland]

I'm not aware of another organization. We are currently working on a data exchange system. I think that would meet what you're looking for, and then the jurisdictions would have a line of sight as to what's going on within each of the provinces and territories. The problem is that it's neither consistently gathered data nor shared in a similar system. That's what we're working to upgrade now.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Ms. McAusland.

Thank you, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.

Now we'll go back to Mr. Albas.

The floor is yours for five minutes, sir.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, again, to our witnesses for their testimony.

I'm going to be speaking to the CCMTA, so Ms. McAusland.

In 1954, the federal government gave up its role in terms of extraprovincial enforcement and essentially said to each province that they could enforce the rules under their motor vehicle acts. This created two things.

Number one, it abandoned the field, so to speak, and left it up to provinces to enforce any federal rules, of which there were few, because they essentially said to go to the motor vehicle act.

Number two, it created regulations, and each province created its own structure. That's why we have so many problems in this country with interprovincial barriers to trade. You can't drive through my province during the day, but you can drive through Alberta at night, or vice versa.

It's hard to keep track of them, because there are so many. You have to take the plow off a snowplow and put it in the back. In some provinces, you can't have it in the back but you can have it on the side. The number of regulations we have is almost insane.

It seems to me CCMTA was created to deal with these kinds of things. Why do we still not have a baseline for extraprovincial, mandatory entry-level training? Why is national safety code 16 still just a recommendation and not something everyone abides by?

[Linda McAusland]

We developed NSC 16 in 2019. It went live in 2020. Its intent was to be a baseline of training that each province would commit to.

I can say that each province has met the minimum requirements of MELT. Being a new standard, we know there's more we should be doing. There is work under way to take a look at how it's being applied in each of the provinces, where the gaps are and to develop tools to help provinces be more aligned in how they administer NSC 16.

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

Is there any guidance on being able to do that training in either official language?

[Linda McAusland]

It would be in both official languages, yes.

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

Okay. That's helpful to know.

When it comes to the system—I understand it's an ancient, legacy system—who pays for that? Is there an agreement whereby every province writes a cheque, or is it something that the federal government pays for? How does that work?

[Linda McAusland]

The CCMTA manages and operates it on behalf of the provinces. We get membership dues from each of the provinces, and it's run from the coffers of the CCMTA.

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

It's ultimately taxpayer-run. Is that correct? You run it, but the taxpayers from each province pay their part.

[Linda McAusland]

You also have an interprovincial records exchange program that exchanges data on vehicles, which we charge programs and companies to access. Some of our revenue comes from that system as well.

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

Okay.

When you have your discussions as a body, are the issues of insurance and some of the concerns that Mr. Harper and other trucking associations have considered? Are they brought in? Do you talk to them about these issues, or is it just governments discussing among themselves how to best deal with the problems?

[Linda McAusland]

Three of our members represent insurance where insurance is public. They are Manitoba, Saskatchewan and B.C. In Quebec, we have representatives from insurance. I have a very strong relationship with the Insurance Bureau of Canada. I meet with them regularly. There is an awareness of the impact.

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

Do you think there is some room, though? For example, we've been hearing that there are issues in Ontario, particularly with facility insurance. We've heard from victims in Quebec as well as from tow truck drivers that they can't get compensated.

Do you think there need to be more minimum standards when it comes to insurance for extraprovincial trucking?

[Linda McAusland]

I don't really have an opinion on that. It would be an input to the work that we do, but what—