Canada suffers a persistent truck driver and supply chain jobs shortage expected to swell from 26,000 to upwards of 50,000 by the end of 2024. Like the U.S., which struggles to fill a worker shortage of more than 80,000 and growing, officials are working to find creative ways to attract the next generation of CDL professionals. That’s why Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra recently announced the findings of the National Supply Chain Task Force, a working group focused on alleviating Canada’s congested supply chain.
“Ensuring that Canadians receive essential goods has been a top priority for our government. Over the past several months, I’ve met with a range of supply chain partners and discussed challenges and strategies for public and private sector collaboration to find innovative solutions to ease congestion throughout our supply chain,” Minister Alghabra reportedly stated. “We continue our work to find answers to ensure Canada’s supply chain remains efficient and reliable. The Task Force’s final report will prove invaluable as Canada develops its National Supply Chain Strategy.”
Top-line concerns included truck drivers and other labor shortages, as well issues regarding cross-border freight movement. Canada recently eliminated its Covid vaccine mandate and has urged its U.S. counterparts to follow suit.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance was directly involved with the Task Force and viewed its recommendations favorably. Other stakeholders close to the report included the Teamsters Union, and the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, among others. The parties indicated the 21 actions touted by the task force were largely on point. They included the following.
- Concurrently and immediately ease port container congestion.
- Address immediate labour needs across the transportation supply chain.
- Encourage the attraction and retention of truck drivers.
- Complete the twinning of Highway 185, which connects Quebec to New Brunswick.
- Expedite the approval of winter transport on ice roads.
- Incent or create competition in sustainable pallets to increase additional domestic pallet capacity.
- Waive 50 percent of airport rent payments on a short-term basis to enable airport authorities to invest in capital improvements that enhance transportation supply chain reliability.
- Reopen Free and Secure Trade card enrollment centres and/or consider novel ways to expedite applications.
- Expand the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and other government department services required to process commercial goods at ports, land border crossings and airports to offer 24/7 services as needed.
- Develop a long-term transportation supply chain strategy, including initiating a review to update and modernize related regulations.
- Develop a transportation supply chain labour strategy.
The report also advocates long-term planning strategies that would consider changes upwards of 50 years out. The plan would be updated on a regular basis to account for evolving conditions. Like their U.S. counterparts, Canadian officials are trying to find ways to attract a more diverse workforce to embark on a good-paying career in the freight transportation trades.
Sources: trucknews.com, freightwaves.com
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