Task force completes report on British Columbia trucking dispute

Task force completes report on British Columbia trucking dispute    A three-member task force created by the governments of Canada and the Province of British Columbia to assess a recent port container trucking dispute in that province will publicly release a report Friday.
   The study makes specific recommendations on how container movements can be improved in the lower mainland of British Columbia.
   Last June 27, owner-operator truckers withheld their services at ports in the province's lower mainland, 'due to a dispute with truck companies and brokers over rates and other conditions,' the Canadian government said in a statement.
   'The dispute had a significant impact on the ports and began to affect the efficiency of the national transportation system,' the government's Transport Canada agency noted.
   On July 29, Canadian transport minister Jean-C Lapierre announced federal action to reach a negotiated settlement. One of the terms of that settlement required independent trucking companies and the Vancouver Container Truckers' Association to accept a dispute resolution process, or be barred from ports under the jurisdiction of the Vancouver Port Authority and the Fraser River Port Authority.
   The task force's report will be used by federal and provincial officials to implement 'a framework to provide long-term industry stability,' Transport Canada said.