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DIEPPE, NB โ Truck Carriers in Atlantic Canada are devastated by how quicklyย the negative effects of the changes made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) last month has been.
โWe are in disbelief,โ says Jean-Marc Picard of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA). โThe changes implemented to the Temporary Foreign Workers program by Minister Kenney a month ago are already having an impact on carriers in Atlantic Canada.ย Applications are being denied or delayed with poor responses from the Department of Immigration on any questions about the programโ.
โA long-haul truck driver in Atlantic Canada is a high wage occupation because they are paid more than the provincial average for truck drivers,โ Picard says. โCarriers are now faced with a dilemma; they need to fill empty truck seats and there are no drivers to recruit!ย Parking trucks is now a reality for some carriers, which mean loss of jobs, less tax money coming in and freight contracts being trucked by out of province carriers.โ
โNow truck carriers are all competing for the same drivers and there arenโt that many of them available,โ Picard says. โThe Government needs to realize how important the trucking industry is to our economy. Without it, goods donโt move and without drivers, trucks donโt move.โ
Minister Kenney has called for a phase outย โlow skill streamโ jobs.ย Obviously, Minister Kenney has no idea of the skill involved in truck driving, or the responsibility placed upon the driver.
