Farmer caught in battle with ICBC over 140-hour training requirement for commercial licence

A farmer in northern B.C.'s Robson Valley says he's been denied a second chance to take a test for a commercial licence because of pandemic-related delays and communication breakdowns with the provincial insurance corporation.

Ron Westlund, a third-generation farmer who lives in McBride, 200 kilometres southeast of Prince George, says he's been driving trucks and heavy equipment around his land and off his property for decades without formal training.

Westlund was pulled over a few years ago and warned he would need to upgrade to a Class 1 licence.

He earned his learner's permit but then says he couldn't book a testing appointment in his region. The only appointments available were hundreds of kilometres away. 

Pandemic backlog causes delays

Then the pandemic hit, cancelling testing appointments all over the province. 

A year later, in March 2021, the provincial government announced a new program that requires lengthy entry-level training to get that licence. The move was made in response to the devastating bus crash in Saskatchewan that killed 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team in 2018.

The Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) program is a 140-hour course spread over several weeks. Exceptions to the program were granted to those who passed a Class 1 road test before Oct. 18, 2021.

Westlund, 51, says he had difficulty meeting the Oct. 18 deadline for several reasons, including work that needed to be done on the farm, a lack of testing opportunities close to his home, and a backlog of people wanting to take the test. 

When he got his Class 1 learner's licence in September 2021, he was given two days' notice for a test he could take in Cranbrook — more than 700 kilometres away.

Westlund says the stress of that journey prevented him from focusing on the exam, which he wound up failing.

"I had to organize to hire a truck, have a driver drive with me. There was a road closure issue. It took me like 13 hours to get down," he said.

Westlund says he's confident he would have passed if he had been able to take the test nearby, somewhere like Prince George or Clearwater.

Westlund insists he was told verbally he would be able to retake the test if he failed, and managed to book what he thought would be a second chance to take the test closer to home in Clearwater on Nov. 17.

But the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC) said it has no record of that conversation and cancelled the test, citing the October deadline.

New rules come with unfair costs, says MLA

Westlund says he understands the need for training, but with the number of responsibilities of running a farm, he doesn't have the time to spare.

"Animals don't feed themselves, seeds don't get put in the ground," he said. "I cannot go to this MELT program and sit in school for six weeks, do all this testing and run a business."

Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond, who represents Westlund, has requested his case be reconsidered by Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, whose portfolio includes ICBC. 

The issue has also been raised by Kootenay East MLA Tom Shypitka, who says he has a list of more than 20 people who missed getting their Class 1 licence because of pandemic-related backlogs.

He also points out that Westlund is not seeking to be a commercial truck driver, but simply wants to continue working on his farm — as he has for years.

"Some of these big companies can absorb these costs, but the small individual, the small mom-and-pop type operation, they can't," Shypitka said of the new training requirements.

Individual responsibility: ICBC

In a written statement, ICBC said it is up to individual drivers to understand the new Class 1 rules, and that people who didn't have their licences were given several months to earn them prior to the new requirements taking effect.

But Bond says that ignores delays caused by the pandemic, along with the fact that people like Westlund were unable to take a test closer to home.

"It's just another example of how COVID layered on additional challenges that made it very difficult for families."

And though he's confident he'd pass, Westlund says if he fails a second test he will take the training without complaint.

"If I don't make it, then that's on me," he said.