My favourite Minister, in my favourite department created a news release. Let’s see what Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC) had to say!

Alberta is marking more than a year of working with Saskatchewan and Manitoba through the Prairies Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance economic corridors and enhance collaboration with Alberta’s prairie neighbours. To date, the three provinces have achieved harmonization of regulations related to commercial carriers that improve both safety and regulatory requirements.

Bullshit! In the world of economic corridors and collaboration among provinces, it's essential to examine the actual progress made under MOU partnership. A year of following an agreement with no new initiatives. Way to go, celebrate accomplishing the bare minimum with a fake news release but, is the reality living up to the rhetoric?

• Zero harmonization on ELD interpretations. TEC adopted the ELD mandate and the technical standard in June 2021. Three years later there is no ELD interpretation guide for Alberta carriers.
• Zero ELD permits that are available to commercial carriers in Manitoba
• Zero ELD livestock exemptions that are available to commercial carriers in the United States.
• Zero harmonization on what is a ELD violation but, TEC is issuing tickets and penalties regardless.
• Why are Alberta companies forced to pay PST for working in Saskatchewan and zero reciprocal penalty exists when Saskatchewan companies work in Alberta?

“By keeping the momentum of the Prairies MOU going, we can continue to lead the way in building economic corridors, cutting red tape, and creating jobs. This paves the way to make nation-building projects a reality again in western Canada.” Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors

The current state of Alberta TEC operations is not leading the way in anything. This is a department in disarray with no oversight, outdated and costly computer systems and redundant manual processes, not a ministry leading in red tape reduction.

The TPA (third party auditor program) is a disaster, TPA auditors have zero oversight and do not review accurate records because TPA auditors do not have encryption keys, check out my blog, Questioning Accountability: The Controversial Alberta Government TPA Program and its Impact on Trucking Companies.

Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Investigators and TPA’s use a paper chart to look up and convert hours of service information because the computer program (ARC) does not accept time by the second, check out my blog, Transportation and Economic Corridors data entry debacle, another waste of taxpayer dollars.

Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors does not have accurate safety fitness information because Alberta cannot share complete enforcement information from other jurisdictions due to a computer problem see my blog, Don’t look behind the curtain! unveiling the Alberta Transportation safety scam.

As the rhetoric of fake progress clashes with the realities on the ground, it becomes apparent that mere fake news releases and empty promises are insufficient. It is imperative for the leadership group of Alberta TEC to address the systemic shortcomings, enhance regulatory coherence, and prioritize the needs of commercial carriers. By exposing the disparities between official TEC statements and on-the-ground realities, I aim to advocate for substantial reforms, fair treatment of commercial carriers, and a transparent approach to governance in the transportation sector. It’s time to drain the swamp.