Transport committee  Our industry is somewhat unique in that every carrier is federally regulated but enforcement of those regulations falls on the provinces. That makes things tricky to manage. We all adhere to the national safety code and the hours of service rules, but the province is responsible

Transport committee  Yes. We have committees in place and we are working on certain issues, as we speak, but it's a long process and progress is slow. We are, however, making headway from one year to the next.

Transport committee  I would say the driver shortage is our number one challenge, followed by the expansion of Highway 185 to four lanes. We are competing with western Canada for workers. Of course, we'd like to re-ignite the economy in Atlantic Canada, so this is definitely something our governments

Transport committee  They're our best drivers.

Transport committee  Yes.

Transport committee  Not a chance.

Transport committee  It does keep the traffic flowing. It's a bit trickier for the big commercial vehicles, specifically if you have a car that goes inside a roundabout with a truck. People need to be educated on roundabouts because we're seeing them pop up everywhere. I think they should be included

Transport committee  Groupe Robert set an excellent example by choosing natural gas for 150 of its trucks. The technology, however, isn't quite mature, so the return on investment isn't there yet. A natural gas-powered vehicle costs about $85,000 more. A company has to have substantial savings to mak

Transport committee  It's probably a combination of the two. Right now, a truck driver in Atlantic Canada earns an average of $55,000. That said, I do know some who make up to $80,000 or $90,000. Since drivers are paid by the mile, they have to drive a lot. The working conditions are beginning to ch

Transport committee  I would say 60 hours.

Transport committee  It's something we are considering, to be sure. We aren't expecting the vehicles to be completely self-driving. Already, in the industry, a driver can release the wheel for an hour at a time. The vehicle can stop and accelerate without driver intervention, given the number of sens

Transport committee  That doesn't only apply to ports. The main issue has to do with drivers. I would say that their average age, in the Atlantic region, is closer to 52. We are trying to develop strategies in collaboration with immigration officials. Our association hired a person in the past whos

Transport committee  If the federal government were to provide financial support for training or subsidize training courses to help us quickly create a pool of ready-to-hire workers, we certainly wouldn't be opposed to it. It goes further than that, however. The trucking industry is unique, and the

Transport committee  A lot is being done to try to attract women and young people to the industry. This is all new for us. We aren't turning anyone away. Our human resources council, in Nova Scotia, has some excellent programs to attract women to the industry. In our region, we are starting to see th

Transport committee  Highway 185.