Truckers to vote on work stoppage over Vancouver port’s ‘penalizing’ rolling age program

More than 1,000 members of British Columbia’s United Truckers Association are planning to vote on a “work stoppage” next month over incoming regulations at the Port of Vancouver. On Sept. 15, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s revised Rolling Truck Age Program takes effect, banning diesel-powered trucks more than 12 years old from accessing the port. Gagan Singh, spokesperson for the United Truckers Association, said the program will wreak havoc on supply chains and force some truckers who can’t afford to replace their vehicles out of a job. “We are not against the environment, we are worried about future generations too, but if someone is penalizing us, we don’t accept it,” he told Global News.

The Rolling Truck Age Program was initially set to begin in February, but the trucking industry called on the federal government to intervene. In January, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra asked the port authority to delay the program and gather more input from stakeholders. Following that consultation period, the authority amended its original plan from a 10-year rolling truck age to a 12-year rolling truck age. “We gave industry ample time to prepare,” said Greg Rogge, director of land operations with Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, in an interview. “We’re prepared to make whatever accommodation is necessary to ease the transition into compliant, environmentally-friendly trucks.” The port authority will have an exception program in place, he added, allowing some trucks to continue within the system for between one and three years if their factory-installed environmental equipment is working properly. The organization is also prepared to offer a grace period to truckers who agree to replace their trucks, but need more time to acquire one, Rogge said.

Singh estimates some 1,200 truckers associated with the United Truckers Association will vote on the work stoppage on July 1, telling Global News they have “no choice” if they want governments and the port authority to listen to them.

This is an excerpt from the Global News article.