OTA still pushing for no FDA rest on Sunday

TORONTO, (May 12, 2004) — After months of lobbying, the Ontario Trucking Association has recruited the help of the provincial government to ensure the U.S. Food and Drug Administration opens up shop on Sundays and add resources to expedite clearance on Saturdays.

The lack of border coverage by FDA officials — particularly at the Peace Bridge and Queenston-Lewiston Bridge. — has created serious inefficiencies for Ontario carriers exporting food or other FDA impacted products to the U.S. on weekends, the OTA reports.

In separate briefings to the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo and government officials in the Province of Ontario, OTA highlighted how this lack of weekend presence by FDA officials at the border on weekends:

Unpredictability of carriers to deliver loads during weekends as well as on Monday mornings to locations in the Northeastern U.S. has a “created a diminishing U.S. consumer/consignee confidence in Canadian products and the ability for Canadian carriers to supply product in a timely manner.” This leads to the potential for increased sourcing from U.S. supplier and trucking companies, the OTA notes.

Also, the inefficiencies on weekends forces “complete alteration of production and dispatch schedules for both Ontario exporters and the trucking companies moving product to meet the five day per week FDA schedule.”

Trucks are not as productive as they could be with FDA weekend hours, the OTA says. “With the new hours of service limitations every hour to the driver and carrier is more valuable than ever.”

In response to OTA’s concerns, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Joseph Cordiano, and Minister of Trade and Agriculture and Food, Steve Peters jointly sent a letter to the their federal counterparts in Ottawa, the Ministers of International Trade and Agriculture, requesting that federal officials work with Washington in hopes of achieving an early resolution to these problems.