OTTAWA — Labour standards in Canada’s trucking industry are coming under heightened scrutiny as a House of Commons committee launches a formal study into alleged exploitative practices, focusing on a controversial business model that critics say is reshaping the sector at the expense of workers.
This week, the federal transport committee began hearings on the “Driver Inc.” model, under which transport companies classify drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. While the drivers in question don’t own or lease their trucks and have little control over their work, the classification allows companies to sidestep benefits, labour protections, and tax obligations.
“The unfortunate truth about this scam is that bad actors are not only winning, they are also taking over the industry and the Canadian supply chain,” said Stephen Laskowski, president and CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, during committee testimony. He described the drivers as “virtually indistinguishable” from employees but stripped of their labour rights.
Angela Splinter, CEO of Trucking Human Resources Canada, told MPs that unethical companies using the model are in “clear violation” of tax and labour codes. “It represents a black market, an illegal rogue practice within the Canadian trucking sector,” she said, warning that the model is undermining the long-term sustainability of the workforce and creating a “rigged market” that puts compliant carriers at a competitive disadvantage.
The committee’s study will include at least six meetings, with testimony expected from the minister of transport and federal secretaries of state for labour and revenue.
Bloc Québécois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval, the party’s transport critic, amplified the issue in a press conference alongside industry representatives, calling for decisive federal action. They presented ten recommendations, including an official inquiry into exploitation, a public registry of non-compliant companies, and a ban on temporary foreign workers being hired as incorporated drivers.
“For us, it’s important to resolve the crisis in the trucking industry because there are jobs in Quebec that are in danger,” Barsalou-Duval said in French.
Union leaders and industry advocates argue that without meaningful enforcement, Driver Inc. will continue to erode labour protections and drive skilled workers out of the industry. The committee’s findings could set the stage for significant reforms in one of Canada’s most critical economic sectors.