Don't ease truck driver licensing requirements, Humboldt Broncos families urge province

Families of those killed or injured in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash are raising concerns that Saskatchewan's rules for truck driving licences could be loosened as the industry deals with a shortage of drivers.

The crash killed 16 people and injured 13 others when a bus carrying the junior hockey team collided with a transport truck at a rural intersection on April 6, 2018.

In a letter to the Saskatchewan government dated Wednesday, 24 of the families say they oppose the possibility of the province eliminating the need for a Class 5 driver's licence before obtaining a Class 1 commercial driver's licence.

"The driver of the semi-trailer truck who caused the horrific crash was grossly underqualified to drive the semi-truck. He is one of an increasing number of untrained and unskilled drivers who are the cause of accidents causing deaths and injuries on Saskatchewan roads and highways," write the letter's authors, Celeste Leray-Leicht and Kurt Leicht, whose son Jacob died in the crash.

"Considering changing driving credentials to make it easier for new drivers to attain a Class One driver's licence is abhorrent and is not in the best interest of our families or of anyone travelling on Canadian roads and highways."

The letter notes the Saskatchewan Party government has promised to make changes to provide the clearest path of any jurisdiction in Canada to having foreign professional credentials recognized: "Ministers, there has always been a driver shortage. Our loved ones are not expendable. Neither are yours."

There was no mention of potential changes in Wednesday's speech from the throne in Saskatchewan.

Tyler McMurchy, a spokesman for Saskatchewan Government Insurance, said there is no plan to change the current need for new drivers to go through the Class 5 graduated licence process before becoming eligible for a Class 1 licence.

He said foreign drivers from a list of 17 countries who have a valid driver's licence can apply for a Saskatchewan Class 5 driver's licence at any motor licence issuer.

McMurchy said experienced truck drivers from those countries who can prove they have more than five years of licensed truck driving experience in the last 10 years can challenge the Saskatchewan driving tests to obtain a Class 1 licence.

"Safety is of utmost importance and no changes are being contemplated which will diminish safety on the roads," he said in an email.

A group of Saskatchewan trucking companies has raised concerns about the driver shortage and difficulty of licensing with Saskatchewan's minister of Immigration and Career Training.

"We need drivers really badly right now," Amandeep Gill of Gobinds Trans Logistics told CTV Regina earlier this month.

"We are almost four or five companies sitting here right now so they are always having that problem."

On its website, SGI, Saskatchewan's Crown insurance company, says there are reciprocity agreements with 17 other countries that recognize each other's Class 5 licences. Drivers not from one of those countries must begin as a new driver.

Toby Boulet, whose son Logan was among those killed, says strict requirements are needed.

"These stringent requirements may seem arduous to some, [but] the families of the Humboldt Bronco tragedy believe they are what is required to ensure that roadways remain as safe as possible," Boulet said in an email.

"We speak from experience that no one wants to have a loved one killed in a vehicle crash."

Michelle Straschnitzki, whose son Ryan was paralyzed from the chest down in the crash, says the prospect of the rules changing doesn't just terrify her.

"It pisses me off because there's no reason in the world that they shouldn't follow the rules and regulations that every other driver on the road has to do."