B.C. port truckers protest licensing changes in rolling convoy

More than 100 container truck drivers held a rolling convoy in British Columbia's Lower Mainland on Sunday in protest against licence changes they say will harm smaller companies moving goods to and from the Port of Vancouver.

With horns honking and banners waving, the trucks departed Delta, B.C., in the morning to make their way to the port's entrance in East Vancouver.

The demonstration was organized by the Port Transport Association (PTA), which says it represents trucking companies that own about half of the 1,600 tags at Canada's busiest port combined.

It was sparked by a report last week from the Office of the B.C. Container Trucking Commissioner (OBCCTC), an independent body formed in 2014 to regulate drayage — the short-haul transport of goods by truck between other modes of shipping, or to their final destination.

The OBCCTC is introducing new licensing requirements, including that container trucking licence holders "must not enter into an agreement, arrangement or understanding" to provide on- or off-dock services with non-license holders who perform off-dock drayage work in the Lower Mainland, according to the report.

The requirement is meant to stop "co-ordinated efforts" to circumvent regulation of container trucking, according to the OBCCTC.

But PTA spokesperson Tom Johnson says the change, set to take effect when two-year licences are up for renewal in November, will harm small- and medium-sized licensed drayage operations by banning them from working with non-licensed parts of their businesses, including long-haul trucking operations.

The commissioner "is essentially saying ... that we can't do business with ourselves," Johnson told CBC News in Delta, B.C., on Sunday. 

"It would essentially cut our business in half. It's basically forcing us to make the choice: Give up our port licence or continue on with the other, off-port work."  

He also says the rule change puts an unfair burden on container trucking companies to know whether the other businesses they work with are abiding by the rules.

That will incentivize larger companies without drayage operations, like CN Rail, to move into the market to ensure the rules are being followed — pushing out smaller, specialized companies, said Johnson, who owns Delta-based Kimberly Transport.

Commissioner Glen MacInnes says the changes are aimed at closing "loopholes," and were made after four months of consultation with trucking companies, drivers and other stakeholders.

"Our mandate is to make sure that we have stability in the industry and to make sure that these owners are paying the regulated rates and not setting up and using loopholes to avoid paying those rates," he told CBC News on Sunday.

The OBCCTC, which said it's also introducing a $2 hourly rate increase for drivers effective July 1, insists the new rates and regulations are not intended "to stop all commerce between licensees and non-licensees."

But Johnson says MacInnes's office hasn't listened to PTA members' concerns that the changes will harm smaller drayage businesses or increase the cost of goods.

The association is pushing for the new requirements to be grandfathered in for existing small and medium trucking companies, saying the changes risk destabilizing businesses that have invested money in both drayage and other trucking operations.

"It's about keeping jobs here, keeping people employed, giving companies the ability to invest and know that they're actually going to be able to service their investment," Johnson said.

The PTA is also calling on B.C.'s transportation ministry to intervene, claiming there aren't sufficient checks on MacInnes's office or recourse to challenge the independent commissioner's decisions.

"The commissioner is telling companies to stay in their own lane, when really, the commissioner should be staying in his own lane," Johnson said.

The association says it has made multiple requests to meet B.C. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming to request a review of the OBCCTC's powers as laid out in the Container Trucking Act, but Johnson says it has not received a response.

CBC News has requested comment from Fleming's office.

Convoy protest rerouted

On Sunday, the entrance to the port at Clark Drive and Hastings Street was blocked by police officers, which a spokesperson for the port authority said was due to the rally. It was cleared around 3 p.m. PT, the spokesperson said.

The demonstrators had planned to end the rally downtown at Canada Place, but said access along Hastings Street was blocked by police.

Several roads across the city had been closed off due to the Vancouver Marathon, the Vancouver Police Department told CBC News in an email.

The PTA says it plans to hold more rallies in the coming days if its members' concerns aren't addressed.