National Trucking Week

4 NATIONAL TRUCKING WEEK T he Manitoba trucking industry drove forward with positive change through significant advocacy efforts this year. One major milestone involved a collaborative approach to provide more than 2,700 vaccination doses in North Dakota through the Essential Worker Cross-Border Vaccination Initiative. The first clinic opened in April at a northbound rest area on Interstate 29 near Drayton, N.D. A month later, more than 1,000 Manitoba truck drivers transporting goods to and from the United States had paused for a short stop to get their shot. For Terry Shaw, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association, this cross-border vaccination program represents a significant advocacy win. "To my knowledge, it was the first of its kind anywhere on the planet but certainly in North America. The Manitoba Trucking Association had been advocating for vaccine priority for our essential workers on the front line," he says. "So we worked with our partners in Manitoba Health, Doctors Manitoba and other agencies. We helped compile and communicate safety protocols for all trucking stuff. When everyone was told staying home meant staying safe, our truck drivers continued their work without pause. While their professionalism, their safety protocols and the relatively solitary nature of their job kept them safe, it wasn't without some risk." Advocates from the Manitoba Trucking Association brought the conversation forward to provincial government partners and received a call from Lakeside MLA Ralph Eichler, who was the minister of Economic Development and Jobs at the time. "He and his deputy minister asked if Manitoba truck drivers would get vaccinated outside of Manitoba if vaccines were made available. I saw no reason why they wouldn't. Vaccines aren't about where you get it; it's about when you get it — the sooner, the better," Shaw says. "About a week later, we had truck drivers getting vaccinated in North Dakota. It led to Saskatchewan partnering with North Dakota and Alberta partnering with Montana. B.C. and Ontario also made calls to their U.S. counterparts, so it was a very trend-setting program across North America. It was very well received by our provincial government partners and our industry partners." Protecting truck drivers not only protects community, but it also protects the Manitoba supply chain, Shaw adds. "It protects the transportation of medicines, vaccines, PPE — the segments of the Manitoba economy that weren't shut down. In fact, by protecting Manitoba truck drivers, it protected manufacturing, construction and retail trade too," he says. "At the same time, it also freed up vaccinations in Manitoba for Manitobans when we had vaccine supply challenges. It was a genuine win-win-win. We can't speak highly enough about the work our provincial and state government partners did in providing those protections to our truck drivers." In addition to pandemic pursuits, the Manitoba Trucking Association made headway with the modernization of record-keeping in the industry. Until recently, truck drivers needed to log all of their trip data using pen and paper, including detailed information about their hours of service. Now electronic logging devices are mandatory across the country, including in Manitoba. "It's something our industry has been pushing for over many years, if not decades. It was long overdue, in our opinion," Shaw says. "We're glad to see that the Province of Manitoba and the Government of Canada have mandated the use of electronic logging devices. That was another advocacy win over the last year." Looking ahead, Shaw says the provincial government will be putting millions of dollars towards training Class 1 drivers to meet ongoing demands. "This is something great not only for our industry but for the supply chains across North America," Shaw says. "If you don't have trained truck drivers, then no freight moves." As well, Shaw gives credit to City of Winnipeg council and staff for considering comments from the Manitoba Trucking Association while reviewing the Complete Communities direction strategy documents. They took these comments to heart and made some adjustments to their plans because of it, Shaw notes. "Despite attention being focused on COVID and the inability to meet in person to advocate, we still saw some advocacy successes over the course of the last year," Shaw says. "Kudos to all our frontline workers, government partners and to the rest of the Manitoba Trucking Association members." When everyone was told staying home meant staying safe, our truck drivers continued their work without pause. " PHOTO SUPPLIED - TERRY SHAW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MANITOBA TRUCKING ASSOCIATION ADVOCACY EFFORTS DRIVE POSITIVE CHANGE By Jennifer McFee

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