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Quebec is imposing new licence transfer requirements for some commercial truck drivers from Ontario following a series of serious crashes that have raised concerns about driver training and road safety.
Under temporary measures announced by the province, Ontario Class 1 drivers with less than two years of heavy-truck driving experience must now pass a practical road test before obtaining a Quebec licence.
Road safety advocates say the move is a positive step, but argue it will have only a limited impact unless broader industry issues are addressed.
“It’s a small piece of a large puzzle in terms of road safety,” said André Durocher, road safety director at CAA-Quebec. “The way it’s done now, it would not prohibit somebody who is a driver in Ontario to come and do all their deliveries in the province of Quebec. It would not change a single thing.”
Durocher said the new requirements nevertheless signal that the government is responding to longstanding concerns within the trucking sector.
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“The industry has been working for many months or even years in that direction, to raise awareness and to say something has to be done,” he said.
Members of the trucking industry also welcomed the measure while stressing that additional reforms are needed.
Stéphane Émond, president of the Centre de Formation du Routier de Montréal (CFRM), said the industry continues to face challenges linked to owner-operators who do not always comply with inspection and training requirements.
“We have a lot of problems with drivers that own their own truck, that don’t do their inspections necessarily,” Émond said. He added that some companies hire incorporated drivers in ways that reduce costs and create competitive pressures within the industry.
Émond pointed to the growth of so-called “Drivers Inc.” arrangements, under which drivers work as full-time employees but are treated as independent incorporated contractors.
“They work as full-time employees but the fact they are incorporated, they have sort of a free pass,” he said, arguing the practice allows some companies to avoid employment-related costs.
According to Émond, the model can shift expenses such as insurance, maintenance and repairs from companies onto individual drivers, while creating incentives to cut corners.
Industry representatives are calling for a uniform national training standard modelled on Quebec’s 615-hour professional truck driver training program. They argue consistent requirements across Canada would help close loopholes that allow inexperienced drivers to obtain credentials and operate commercial vehicles.
Supporters say a national standard would improve safety, strengthen oversight and create a more level playing field for trucking companies across the country.
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