The Canadian Trucking Alliance reached out to federal and provincial officials in Transportation and Environment, urging them to work together to modernize size and weight rules and remove constraints on technologies that would assist carriers in reducing their fleet’s GHG emissions while complying with upcoming national fuel efficiency rules.
Namely, CTA asked the ministers to review provincial policies on New Generation Wide Base Single Tires (NGWBST), which are more fuel efficient and less GHG intensive than conventional dual tires.
Unfortunately, provincial governments outside of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec have yet to remove the regulatory weight penalties which would allow greater uptake of the NGWBST, CTA wrote in a letter to ministers and staff in provincial and federal departments dealing with environment and transport.
“Constraining compliance options in such a way limits our industry’s ability to easily apply new technologies to existing equipment. It is all parties’ best interest if trucking companies from across Canada have access to the same carbon reducing technologies that the federal government has deemed necessary for compliance.”
The government’s own analysis recognizes the significant benefits of the NGWBST, including:
GHG emissions reductions of 8.5 tonnes per truck per year (the equivalent of taking 1.8 passenger vehicles per truck off the road each year);
Fuel savings up to 10% compared to dual tires Additional benefits include:
Reductions in the numbers of both injury and fatality accidents on provincial highways
Substantial cost savings in the trucking industry in terms of maintenance and other operating costs
CTA notes that the provincial trucking associations in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan have brought forward a proposal to the provincial ministers of environment and transportation in their respective jurisdictions that may offer an opportunity to harmonize regulations in those provinces with those in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. However, this can only be achieved through provincial-federal cooperation, CTA stresses.
While the federal departments are responsible for the rules and equipment necessary to reduce carbon emissions from the heavy truck sector, it is the provinces who hold the pen on which of these technologies can actually be used on National Highway System (NHS) and provincial routes. Going forward, the success of the GHG regulation can only be achieved once the policy gaps on these issues are bridged.
The CTA was also heartened by the recommendations brought forward as part of the Canadian Transportation Act Review.
“We believe our proposal has the additional benefit of supporting the federal government’s objectives of “harmonizing regulatory standards for trucking in order to ensure the ongoing fluid movement of interprovincial and international trade” while providing support for technological innovation related to GHG emissions reductions.”
CTA says western ministers need to take advantage of this opportunity create a provincial regulatory regime which allows trucking companies to utilize NGWBST from B.C. to Saskatchewan.
