Maple Leaf Motoring: Trucker Fights Deportation 'For Working Hard'

Maple Leaf Motoring is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of Canadian trucking. This week – a trucker fights his deportation, a pay-as-you-go ELD is released, and workplace safety declines in Ontario.

A mechanical engineering student who supported himself by driving a truck faces deportation from Canada to India for working more hours than his study permit allowed.

Jobandeep Sandhu was pulled over during a routine traffic stop on Highway 401 between Montreal and Toronto in 2017. But upon examining his log book, a police officer discovered that he had worked more than 20 hours – above the weekly limit under his permit to study in Canada.

"Now I am being deported for working hard," Sandhu wrote on an online petition, asking Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to rescind the deportation order.

The petition had collected more than 50,000 signatures as of May 24.

"I had a choice either to stop studying or work harder to support my education and my dreams. I chose the latter," he added.

Sandhu is required to leave Canada by June 15.

The Ontario Trucking Association has called on Canada to bring in more foreign truckers to address a driver shortage.

Injuries rise at Ontario's transport and warehouse workplaces

Transportation and warehousing workplaces in Ontario got less safe, according to a new ranking from the province's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

The 2019 Health and Safety Index for the transportation and warehousing industry, which includes trucking, dropped by 1.6 percent largely because of a sharp increase in injuries. Workplace safety across all workplaces overall rose by 1.9 percent.

TruckNews noted that serious injuries nearly doubled in 2018.

First pay-as-you-go ELD unveiled

FleetComplete's BigRoad launched a pay-as-you-go service for its DashLink ELD, the first of its kind electronic logging device (ELD).

"We have clients whose business is seasonal or that requires ELD compliance on occasion, but who have to subscribe to full service, which they don't use all the time. With Pay-As-You-Drive, these drivers will have an easier path to compliance without the financial strain," said Tony Lourakis, CEO of Fleet Complete and BigRoad.

The Canadian firm is also providing free hardware to new customers. It also comes without contracts or cancellation fees.

Image sourced from Pixabay