Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre urged his supporters to plant their names on a new petition opposing the controversial Rolling Truck Age Program..The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority announced in June last year that truck drivers serving the Port of Vancouver will not be permitted to operate vehicles more than 12 years old, which Poilievre says is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “latest attack on working class people.".The port authority specifically notes older, diesel-powered trucks as a significant source of particulate matter, highlighting cancer-causing concerns, although the program’s main focus is emissions..In 2012, the port authority began engaging the commercial trucking sector toward the development of the program and, after conducting “extensive engagement with industry and relevant stakeholders,” the port authority said in 2015 that the program would go into effect February 2022..However, the move was delayed until September 2022 upon request from Canada’s Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, and again until April 2023..If implemented, around 20% of trucks — more than 350 — that haul loads to and from the ports will no longer be allowed. New or lightly used rigs can cost upward of $200,000..The United Truckers Alliance (UTA) said last year the delayed program represents “impending doom" by putting extreme financial burden on container truckers, further raising concern of more supply chain delays in an already low-ranking port when it comes to performance..“The approximately 1,700 trucks being unfairly targeted by the RTAP represent less than 2% of BC’s licensed commercial trucks, who face none of the same punitive emissions standards,” said the UTA in a release..The UTA also notes the Port of Vancouver increased its coal export volume by 19% in 2021, highlighting the amount represents roughly 79,267,906 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, which equals emissions from 17,079,795 gas-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year..“This is the same kind of attack Trudeau’s been doing on our working class since he became prime minister," said Poilievre in a video posted to social media Thursday..“Ports are exclusively federal jurisdiction and he is the federal prime minister, so he is responsible and it is his radical agenda that is once again attacking these working class people,” added the Conservative leader..The port authority’s plan to upgrade trucks for environmental reasons began in 2012 under former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government — furthered by Trudeau's Liberal government years later.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre urged his supporters to plant their names on a new petition opposing the controversial Rolling Truck Age Program..The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority announced in June last year that truck drivers serving the Port of Vancouver will not be permitted to operate vehicles more than 12 years old, which Poilievre says is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “latest attack on working class people.".The port authority specifically notes older, diesel-powered trucks as a significant source of particulate matter, highlighting cancer-causing concerns, although the program’s main focus is emissions..In 2012, the port authority began engaging the commercial trucking sector toward the development of the program and, after conducting “extensive engagement with industry and relevant stakeholders,” the port authority said in 2015 that the program would go into effect February 2022..However, the move was delayed until September 2022 upon request from Canada’s Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, and again until April 2023..If implemented, around 20% of trucks — more than 350 — that haul loads to and from the ports will no longer be allowed. New or lightly used rigs can cost upward of $200,000..The United Truckers Alliance (UTA) said last year the delayed program represents “impending doom" by putting extreme financial burden on container truckers, further raising concern of more supply chain delays in an already low-ranking port when it comes to performance..“The approximately 1,700 trucks being unfairly targeted by the RTAP represent less than 2% of BC’s licensed commercial trucks, who face none of the same punitive emissions standards,” said the UTA in a release..The UTA also notes the Port of Vancouver increased its coal export volume by 19% in 2021, highlighting the amount represents roughly 79,267,906 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, which equals emissions from 17,079,795 gas-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year..“This is the same kind of attack Trudeau’s been doing on our working class since he became prime minister," said Poilievre in a video posted to social media Thursday..“Ports are exclusively federal jurisdiction and he is the federal prime minister, so he is responsible and it is his radical agenda that is once again attacking these working class people,” added the Conservative leader..The port authority’s plan to upgrade trucks for environmental reasons began in 2012 under former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government — furthered by Trudeau's Liberal government years later.
