When the dinner bell rings

REGINA — After spending 16 hours on the road, all Larry Ternet wants is a good, light meal, but more often than not there are few options.

“I got a microwave in the truck and eat about 90 percent of my meals out of there now,” explains Ternet. “I just can’t afford to eat meals in the truck stops and can’t find any that are open.”

Labor problems are not exclusive to trucking. Staffing issues are problematic across a number of sectors in Canada, including service and hospitality.

Truck stop restaurants are just the latest to suffer from staffing problems.

A handful of Husky Travel Centre locations in Western Canada have had to temporarily or permanently stop offering 24-hour service in their restaurants, including the travel centers in Brandon, Man., Regina and occasionally Saskatoon.

“It is up to the individual operators,” explains Graham White, spokesperson for Husky. “They have a threshold where the staff rate for two employees goes beyond how much they bring in during that shift. The three factors that determine if the operator can stay open for 24 hours are: safety, economics and staffing.”

The situation is not new for Husky, which owns 15 travel centers between B.C. and Ontario. The Husky stops in B.C. have not offered 24-hour restaurant service for some time.

According to a spokesperson for the Flying J, they are also experiencing tremendous staffing issues, but have so far been able to maintain their 24-hour restaurant service.

For Ternet, the problem is not just about getting a bite to eat, but about the increasing lack of convenience for truckers — he runs lanes which take him to remote parts of Canada.

“It’s really going to affect the guys who do scheduled runs out in those areas; and we run 24 hours,” explains Ternet.

Out in remote areas, there aren’t a lot of options. You may be able to find a Tim Horton’s, but parking usually isn’t exactly truck friendly; and a cardlock might be close by, but that’s only good for fuel and maybe a shower.

Ternet says it’s been pretty much downhill since the late-80s, as prices for just about everything have steadily rose during the past couple of decades.