Industry committee  How I would answer the question is to say that because of the nature of the border, the border definitely has changed the way you do business as a trucking company. With regard to security requirements and food inspections, it's becoming far more complicated. It has forced both big and small companies to adapt.

Industry committee  The short answer is yes. My answer to everyone, including the drivers and the companies who ask questions—and they're legitimate questions—is that all electronic logbooks are doing is taking the law that we currently have and bringing it from paper to electronic form. There is always enforcement flexibility when they look at it.

Industry committee  Absolutely. It does today, and it will in an electronic world.

Industry committee  Trucking is a hyper-competitive business, just so everyone understands. A class 1 railway would typically have an operating ratio of about 0.70. That would be a bad day for the railway. They're typically under that. Historically, a good average in trucking is 0.95, to your point, so we compete on pennies.

Industry committee  It will be a significant challenge in the supply chain. The issue of the clean fuel standard, specifically to your question...Currently, the trucking industry has no alternative to diesel fuel. We are not married to diesel fuel. It is a marriage of no other choice. Right now there is no infrastructure capacity for another fuel that's North American-wide that would allow a long-haul trucker to operate.

Industry committee  Correct. Our challenges and concerns with regard to pricing diesel compared to something else are.... In such a public policy world, one would say, “I am going to price this higher to incent you to use this other fuel.”

Industry committee  Correct.

Industry committee  You know, that's exactly our philosophy. I think, when we look at regulatory introduction and regulations, period, the best regulations are those that are followed and enforced. The move to an electronic world allows a higher level of compliance and in this case also allows the enforcement community to be able to enforce the rules and ensure that public safety is at its highest point for all trucking companies and drivers.

Industry committee  Yes, the northern project pilot program was announced, I believe, two or three weeks ago. It would allow, I guess, a certain number of municipalities to participate in it. That would, in essence, allow industries that currently don't have access to immigration the ability to participate on a local basis.

Industry committee  First of all, I'm going to steal the sandbox from you. I hadn't heard that one, so I'm going to use that. Absolutely. From an industry perspective, the ideal situation is always, “Let's go from zero to.... Let's bypass the pilot.” But understanding governments, we need to make sure there are no unintended consequences.

Industry committee  Since December of 2017, and coming into full effect at the end of this year, the U.S. has completely phased out the use of paper logbooks. Paper logbooks capture the hours-of-service rules of a driver and of the company. I think it's important to alway recognize that a company has a responsibility; it's not just the driver.

Industry committee  That's correct. This is about small businesses, but from a governmental perspective, and a provincial perspective, this will bring enforcement cost savings to the provinces. This rule has nothing but an upside, nothing.

Industry committee  That's correct, and it would be win-win, and add one more win, for the governments, because it will bring efficiencies.

Industry committee  Provincial governments would. This is a federal regulation, but the provinces enforce this regulation. So as you drive down a highway, a 400-series highway, you'd see what we will call scales, enforcement facilities, down there, and those are housed by provincial officials. With paper logbooks, this is a difficult task at the side of the road.

Industry committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for having us here today. I'll provide some brief background on what the Canadian Trucking Alliance is. We represent over 4,500 carrier companies from across Canada, both big and small. Our members serve all segments of the economy.