While the Trucking Industry is in Crisis…

What are doing Minister Julie Boulet in Quebec and Minister Jim Bradley in Ontario to help the trucking industry?

One is passing a bill to mandate speed limiters on all heavy trucks, for safety and reduction of GHG’s, while the other one is announcing that 60M$ of our tax money is granted for intermodal transportation of goods in an effort to also reduce GHG’s and truck traffic on the roads.

Mandatory speed limiters, as described in Bill 41 proposed by Minister Bradley, may have some benefits for carriers based in Ontario by limiting the competition and putting another regulation on carriers using the roadways of the province to get elsewhere. (See link to the Bill). This doesn’t help to get a relief from the cost of fuel. http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/committee-proceedings/committee_business.do?Busin
essType=Bill&BillID=1959&locale=en&CommID=7348.

Across the provincial line, Minister Boulet will, with funds for grants,favour projects from promoters to develop inter or multimodal structures for the transportation of goods helped by Minister Beauchamps in order to reduce the 38% of gases made by the transport of goods. This either doesn’t help to get a fare rate with the rising costs of operations.

With the idling economy, factories closing almost weekly and the limited growth of the population, soon we won’t be carrying anything and we won’t be responsible of 38% of the GHG’s anyways.

I have a few ideas for the Ministers

1- We could make the world biggest network of canals to remote areas of the province and attract new tourism.
2- Ask Canada Post to replace motorised mail distribution in rural areas by pigeons. This may not reduce a lot of GHG but would give some relief to statues and spread out of the squares and parks the droppings.
3- Transform bike paths that are on old railroad tracks in railroad tracks to also help the remote areas and put people back on the trains like in the past.

Can we hope for some help from our governments to pass through this crisis with these kind of announces?
Make your own opinion, mine is made already.

Getting Back on Tracks

It is hard for someone, and I am only human, to get over the emotional shock of admitting a defeat. Being the winner is more gratifying even if this is an emotional shock too. It’s a long process that only time can heal but, when I decided to look at the snow melt on my truck and the grass grow under, it’s was also the income generator that I parked. Other decision had to be taken and they took time to accept.

One of the decisions was to only look at the grass grow, not under the truck no more. I had to clean the spot. Like many of us, I often said that I would make a lawn ornament with it and plant flowers around. I resign to the idea on 2 simple reasons, first I have no gardening skills, I needed the money to start up another project and I need to eat some square meals once in a while.

The thing that moves me this week other then the rising curve of diesel prices, is the steps forward of the Bill of Ontario’s Transport Minister Jim Bradley to mandate speed limiters as asked by his homonym David Bradley head of the CTA.

I’ll comment later this week on that topic.

I’m getting back on tracks. At least the Bradley Duo will have done something good for me...