Northern Ont. MPP calls for increased winter training for truckers
A northern Ontario MPP was at Queen's Park on Tuesday calling for increased winter training for commercial truck drivers.
A Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from northern Ontario presented a bill at Queen's Park calling for increased winter driving training for truckers.
Mushkegowuk-James Bay MPP Guy Bourgouin presented a private members' bill on Tuesday to increase safety on northern Ontario highways.
The bill would see an additional 20 hours of simulated training geared toward winter driving for A and D licence commercial truck drivers.
'What we're seeing right now is that we have a lot of inexperienced drivers who have never driven during harsh winter road conditions,' he said.
During the media conference, Bourgouin was accompanied by Travis McDougall, co-founder of advocacy group Truckers for Safer Highways.
McDougall said he's also seeing a lot of inexperienced truck drivers on the road.
'Too many drivers are entering the industry without the essential skills to navigate our harsh winter conditions,' he said.
'They lack the knowledge of how a truck behaves on icy roads, how to adjust their driving techniques and the importance of recognizing their limits. It's putting countless lives at risk.'
McDougall said many are leaving the industry due to safety concerns and unsustainable conditions.
'As a truck driver, I see reckless driving, poor decision making and a lack of respect for the road,' he said.
'We, as truck drivers used to be called 'brothers of the highway.' Now, it would be more realistic to call us 'survivors of the highway.''
Danny Whalen, president of the Federation of Northern Municipalities (FONOM), used to serve as co-chair of the Northern Ontario Transportation Task Force.
He said increased training was something many advocated for.
'Many of the drivers that are coming through northern Ontario are hitting their first snowstorm and they've never seen anything like that before,' Whalen said.
'So, this new private member's bill, we fully support the draft, sent in a letter of support for it and we think it's a great, great step forward.'
Adam Delamorandiere, head of driver training for Northern Academy of Transport Training, said simulated training has its downfalls because it can't prepare for all weather conditions and circumstances.
'It's very, very difficult for me to say that I wholeheartedly agree with an additional 20 hours of simulated winter driving,' Delamorandiere said.
'But, again, I do also favour the side of additional training and anything over and above is always going to help.'
He added he would like to see more benefits from the additional training built into a program offered by driving schools strictly in the winter, where students could receive in-truck training with a coach.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
35 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘It looked like the end of the world': Harrowing first-hand account from Manitoba evacuee
Alex Karpa has the story of an elder from northern Man. who shares the terror he felt ensuring the safety of his 19 grandchildren while fleeing wildfires.
CTV News
37 minutes ago
- CTV News
Flocks of Canadian geese relocated to Essex County
Geese are rounded up in Kitchener and relocated to Essex County. CTV Windsor's Bob Bellacicco explains why. Norm North, owner of Integrated Goose Management Services, dropped off 17 adult geese and 32 goslings Wednesday at Jack Miner. Additionally, 156 were delivered Tuesday to the migratory bird sanctuary, all from the Waterloo area. His trip to Kingsville is part of a pilot relocation program to help manage an issue some are calling 'nuisance geese' in parks and green spaces. The geese dropped off at Jack Miner this week were part of an overpopulation problem at Waterloo Park in Waterloo, where officials say about 350 geese have taken over. North's company motto is, 'Striving to put myself out of business. Ideally that's what will happen.' 'Cities that are dealing with ballooning populations usually have goose relocation as part of their strategy, in addition to many other strategies, to push wildlife out of their public spaces,' said Matthew Olewski, executive director of Jack Miner. 'Goose relocation allows the geese to be relocated here to a safe place.' According to a release from the City of Waterloo, a permit from the Canadian Wildlife Service was granted, allowing a relocation team to gather the birds and drive them to Kingsville. In June, many geese can't fly because they are molting (a natural period when birds shed and regrow their feathers, leaving them unable to fly for about four to five weeks), or too young, making it a good time for relocation Essex Region Conservation Authority CAO Tim Byrne said he appreciates what is being done, but also has concerns. 'They (Jack Miner) are fantastic stewards. I think this is okay, but the capacity of any region to handle anything has to be looked at,' Byrne cautioned. 'These are migratory waterfowl, and we have to somehow ensure that process is not tampered with and that these creatures don't become just so imprinted that they can just hang out here.' 'I think it's a nice thing, but we want to temper any active continuation or other municipalities turning their problem into our problem. A measured response I think is best and should be monitored and looked at in that way,' said Byrne. Matthew Olewski, executive director of Jack Miner, ensures the project has been tried with other communities in the Toronto area with success. 'They only see about 10 per cent of these geese returning to those public spaces, so we know the goose relocation does work,' said Olewski, who explained the birds are dropped off, banded, and properly nurtured at the sanctuary. 'These are birds that are going to come here and develop into healthy adults, and they are going to migrate.' Olewski added the birds delivered to the sanctuary in Kingsville is a blip in the overall population. 'In terms of the impact on local goose populations, we're seeing 160 come in. The impact is 160 new birds in this area for the time and when fall migration kicks off, they're going to be migrating.' When it comes to migratory waterfowl, Olewski feels work needs to be done to push geese out of public places. 'There are many things they (municipalities across the province) can do in addition to goose relocation,' Olewski pointed out. 'If you don't change the environmental conditions that attracts geese to a specific area, they will continue to move back into those locations. Fresh cut lawn. Access to water. Those are the prime two needs of waterfowl, and we see plenty of that in public spaces.' More native pollinators, light and noise deterrents, egg oiling (application of biodegradable vegetable-based oil to newly laid eggs to prevent hatching, under Canadian Wildlife Service permitting) and egg removal are measures some municipalities are using to control the Canada goose population. 'You need to start to think critically about making the conditions less favorable for geese to develop into very strong local populations.' Olewski said.
CTV News
37 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘The dust will fly' – but control measures returning this fall to Chatham-Kent
Chatham-Kent council has voted to reinstate its dust suppression program after backlash from rural residents who were left frustrated by the initial decision to cut it during 2025 budget talks. Council voted 13-3 on Monday night to bring the program back, months after eliminating it in an effort to save about $1.3 million from the municipal budget — a move that represented a 0.8 per cent savings on the tax rate. The change of direction came after vocal opposition from residents who live on gravel roads, including farmers and members of the Kent Federation of Agriculture. 'We're very happy that it's coming back,' said KFA president Jim Brackett, who lives on a dirt road in Morpeth. But Brackett warned that reinstating the program isn't enough — it has to be done properly. 'It has to be applied properly and has to be applied at the right rate, it has to be the right product, and it has to be done twice a year to be the most effective,' he said. The dust, he added, has serious consequences for both people and crops along with motorist's safety. 'It's bad for our health. And if you were doing a construction site in town, you would be obligated to mitigate the dust,' said Brackett. 'I wash my vehicle every couple of days because of this. My house, I can't open the windows. My crops, it'll form a layer over the crops and interfere with translocation, increase the heat.' He explained, 'I already know of one resident that's been forced off the road because he was in a cloud of dust.' Although residents have been calling for immediate relief, municipal staff say the program won't resume until sometime this fall due to tendering and administrative delays. 'If they wanted to, they could be doing it quickly, but it sounds like it's going to be September before we get it back,' said Brackett. 'I may not get dust control this year, but someone may. So as long as some of our members get dust control and some of our people that travel the rural roads, then that's a plus versus nothing.' Ward 6 Councillor Michael Bondy, who originally voted to cut the program, brought the issue back to the council table after hearing from residents across the municipality. 'I heard from a lot of rural voices, and they felt pretty slighted and, frankly, kind of ripped off because something that had been done for 40 plus years was cut from the budget with my help, because I voted to help cut it from the budget, because we were told by staff that it's ineffective, it doesn't work and it's a waste,' said Bondy. Bondy told CTV News there are upwards of 1700 kilometres of gravel roads across the municipality. 'It was just another one of these instances of the rural voices just weren't heard and I'm a city guy, but I represent all of Chatham-Kent as a councillor, right? So I thought, well, I'll bring this back. This should be an easy one. Well, not quite that easy, but it did pass after an hour and a half discussion.' Bondy says red tape is now the main hurdle. 'The dust will fly unless the process can be changed because there has to be a report to council. It has to be tendered. The tender award has to be signed and contracted... blah blah. What am I saying? I'm saying red tape is what it is. It's red tape.' While hopeful that staff can speed up the process, Bondy acknowledged it may take time. 'I'm really hoping that, you know, staff can maybe get this moving a little earlier as it is only the beginning of June,' he said. 'I thought this was going to be rather simple, because it's been done for 40 plus years, by the same people. So I didn't think it would be difficult to reinstate. But I'm not complaining because we did vote to reinstate it, so, you know, we're halfway there, I would say.' Meantime, residents like Brackett are cautiously optimistic, saying any progress is better than none.
