CTA says feds ‘can do better’ by okaying association environmental plan

OTTAWA — The federal government should be putting aside some dough in next year’s budget for some trucking-sponsored environmental initiatives, says the nation’s largest carrier group.

“The 2007 federal budget presents a prime opportunity for the Canadian government to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gases.” said David Bradley, CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance this week in a pre-budget consultation session before the Standing Committee on Finance.

CTA says a series of proposals will clean up the
environment and make trucking more efficient.

Bradley reiterated several key components Alliance has been promoting as part of its plan for sustainable truck transportation in Canada.

These include accelerating the capital cost allowance rates for new model, near-zero emission trucks to promote their market penetration; reinstating and increasing a previously cancelled Natural Resources Canada rebate program for auxiliary power units such as truck heating and cooling units; putting in place investment tax credits for environmentally-friendly technologies; and increasing the reinvestment level for federal road fuel excise taxes to help speed up the improvement of Canada’s highway infrastructure.

The CTA is also pushing provincial governments to adopt a plan to mandate speed limiters set at 105 km/h on all trucks.

The combined benefits of the environmental initiatives proposed by CTA, Bradley noted, would be equivalent to removing 91,000 trucks from the roads in terms of nitrous oxide emissions, 100,000 trucks in terms of particulate matter (which, together with nitrous oxide, are the primary elements in smog), and 46,000 trucks in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

Pledging to remain “eternally optimistic” that the CTA proposals will eventually be adopted, Bradley was described in a CTA press release as saying Canada “could do better” in achieving sustainable transportation.

Also, as he’s stated many times in previous pre-budget appearances before the Commons committee, Bradley also called on the government to increase the rate for tax deductibility of driver meals from 50 percent to 80 percent and thereby reduce the competitive imbalance between the rates available to U.S. and Canadian drivers.