Since the Humboldt Broncos crash , three provinces have passed laws for mandatory entry-level commercial truck driving training: Alberta (effective March 1), Saskatchewan (passed in December, effective March 15), and Manitoba (effective Sept. 1).
In July 2016, the province of Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce mandatory entry-level driver training for commercial truckers. The truck driver training policy took effect on July 1, 2017.
The semitrailer driver who caused the Humboldt Broncos crash has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Jaskirat Sidhu, 30, pleaded guilty to all 29 counts against him in January, including 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing harm. He had been working for the company since March 17 and had taken a short driving course during the summer of 2017.
The owner of the tractor-trailer involved in the Humboldt Broncos crash, Sukhmander Singh, owner of Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd., pleaded guilty to failing to maintain proper logbooks and failing to implement safety programs. Civil charges under provincial and federal regulations for which fines are capped at $5,000.
Despite the fact that Provincial Governments are introducing mandatory entry level training, there are petitions being circulated to make standards a national issue.
Petition E-2005 has more than 6,500 signatures so far. The petition was launched by Pattie Fair of Alie, Alberta, whose husband, a commercial truck driver, was killed in a crash near Revelstoke British Columbia.
The petition lists four points:
1. Regulate the Class 1 commercial licensing process to be considered a nationwide skilled trade of professional drivers.
2. Modify the National Occupational Classification Code to give individuals the opportunity to qualify for funding to support their training.
3. Develop and implement a common mandatory entry-level training curriculum and a graduated licensing system for Class 1 license candidates.
4. Require licensing bodies to collect and store information on the training provider and duration of training to be associated with the record of each commercial driver.
Kelly Block, Conservative member of Parliament representing Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek, Saskatchewan, authorized the petition.
Most of the signatures so far come from Alberta (1,885), and the second most signatures come from British Columbia (1,571).
