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Truckers oppose port’s environmental mandate

GLENDA LUYMES

VANCOUVER — The United Truckers Association voted Friday in favour of job action against a recent Port of Vancouver directive that forbids operators from driving vehicles more than 12 years old.

Gagan Singh, spokesperson for the association, said that 639 of the 1,000 members voted to withdraw service, with no votes against.

“I was surprised,” said Singh. “I didn’t expect those numbers.”

Singh said the next step is “to consult with our directors and we will talk to the unions about the (job action) date, should we consider it.”

Meetings are planned for Tuesday.

The truckers are upset about the Rolling Truck Age Program, which is set to begin on Sept. 15 and will impact about 20 per cent of the 1,800 trucks that haul containers to and from the ports in a bid to reduce emissions.

The union has said 360 drivers will need to buy a new or lightly used truck, which can cost more than $200,000.

“These costly measures will put extreme financial burden on container truckers amid the highest rates of inflation and unaffordability in a generation,” Singh told Postmedia News.

He predicted new supply chain delays at a time when the port already faces backlogs.

The Rolling Truck Age Program has been on the port’s agenda since 2012. In 2015, the port told drivers that the program would go into effect in February 2022.

The program’s goal is to reduce emissions.

However, a month before the program was to begin, federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra intervened, asking the port to do more consultation with the drivers. Alghabra was concerned the program would hurt Canada’s already frail supply chain.

In early June, the port announced consultation was complete, some concessions were made and the program would go ahead. The port’s decision is backed by the B.C. Trucking Association.

“Forcing truckers with fully paid-off assets that meet all Canadian and B.C. standards for commercial operations, in terms of safety, emissions and opacity levels, is punitive against a group that is predominantly South Asian in origin,” said Singh.

He also highlighted the Port of Vancouver’s increasing export of coal that he said creates far more emissions than his member’s trucks.

In an earlier interview, Greg Rogge, director of land operations at the port, told Postmedia News that UTA members were invited to the consultations, but did not participate. He said the port extended the cutoff date from 10 to 12 years and would allow drivers to keep using their outdated trucks while they waited for delivery of a new vehicle.

He said the port has no intention of cancelling the program.

As of Sept. 15, only 16 trucks will be impacted by the requirements, according to information provided by the port authority. Over the next 12 months, 271 trucks operated by independent truck owners will need to be replaced.

The port’s website says old diesel-powered trucks are a significant source of particulate matter in the Metro Vancouver region.

“We still have some very old container trucks — some more than 20 years old — serving the Port of Vancouver,” says a fact sheet.

The program is intended to support “safer, more reliable trucks and cleaner air for our communities.”

It is expected to significantly reduce air emissions from “port-related trucking activities” in the region, by delivering an estimated 93 per cent decrease in particulate matter, a carcinogenic air pollutant, an 80 per cent decrease in nitrogen oxides, a smog-forming pollutant, and a 2.5 per cent decrease in carbon dioxide.

According to the port, about 80 per cent of trucks serving the port are already compliant.

ENVIRONMENT

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2022-07-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-07-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281599539197905

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