Manitoba wants chameleon carriers: Manitoba lawmakers are working to keep trucking companies with poor safety records off Canadian roads.
Legislators in Manitoba introduced new laws targeting “chameleon carriers,” which are trucking companies that reopen under different names to evade safety violations. As a result, Manitoba wants chameleon carriers to be specifically addressed through this legislation. Consequently, the new laws aim to tackle these evasive practices directly. Furthermore, the proposed changes seek to strengthen oversight and ensure that unsafe chameleon carriers are kept off the roads. By implementing these measures, Manitoba hopes to enhance overall road safety and effectively manage chameleon carriers.
“The proposed legislation will strengthen authority to remove ‘chameleon carriers’ and target unsafe operators, minimally affecting compliant carriers,” said Doyle Piwniuk.
Proposed Rule Changes
Manitoba’s proposed changes to the Highway Traffic Amendment Act could assign conditional ratings or deny safety certificates to chameleon carriers.
Manitoba’s current rules do not allow authorities to refuse to issue safety certificates in such cases.
New carriers must identify a certified compliance officer and submit a safety plan before receiving a safety fitness certificate. According to the legislation, existing carriers with a conditional safety rating must certify a compliance officer within 180 days.
The Manitoba Trucking Association’s executive director, Aaron Dolyniuk, supports changing the law to crack down on unsafe operators.
“It allows the province to ensure that the carrier’s history is transferred to another company,” Dolyniuk explained to FreightWaves. “Chameleon carriers have been identified as a problem throughout Canada.”
The April 2018 Humboldt Broncos crash led lawmakers to revise trucking regulations. When the Broncos’ bus collided with an Adesh Deol Trucking tractor-trailer, sixteen people were killed and 13 were seriously injured.
A few days after the accident, the owner of the trucking company involved in the fatal crash established a new company under a different name.
Sukhmander Singh, the owner and director of Adesh Deol Trucking, pleaded guilty to five charges related to the hockey team accident, admitting he violated federal and provincial safety regulations.
After pleading guilty to dangerous driving charges, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the Adesh Deol Trucking driver involved in the accident, was sentenced to eight years in prison and is currently facing deportation.
