President’s Report for December 2024

Matrix is a specialist in focussing on associations and stringently finding advertising to complement the stories and issues laid out in the magazine. We are not alone in this, as The Trucking Network is pairing with us to give a much greater penetration into the carrier network that has not made this move yet.
We expect that the advent of a new source of publicity for both the TTSAO and The Trucking Network will allow for both organizations to find like-minded businesses to work alongside. As the difficult transition in our transportation field is still unfolding, now is a unique time to find new partners and suppliers to help us all overcome the challenge.

Also, we are making some great strides for our upcoming Conference, titled Back to Basics. This is highlighting how we came about as the premier association for commercial licensing, the steps taken, and how to re-entrench these winning strategies to propel us into the next generation.

Sponsors are now being lined up, the core presenters are almost finished being selected and we are once again at Lionhead Golf and Conference Ctr in Brampton. Look at our website for details and how to register.
The Smart Driver Mentorship program is fully operational, and can find jobs for your grads with companies that don’t normally hire new drivers, but can find another 200-400 training hours with daily oversight.
Our Instructor Certification program is also up and running and is waiting for your staff to enroll to ensure professional development for your trainers. The best way to solidify our expertise in the market is to have ALL instructors professionally trained to ensure consistent, comprehensive instruction throughout our Association! All previous certifications will be honored.

In the area of Advocacy, we have spent months working with other stakeholders to advance our concerns over what is happening on the roads, and particularly how to correct Entry Level Training.
This has led to us working on a White Paper, with the help of the IBC, to get MTO to look at adopting some critical aspects of the ELT, to make it better for the good schools to train properly, and for stricter enforcement of MCU + MTO to police all schools to eradicate misrepresentations and false records.
Ultimately, this led to a meeting with Minister Sarkaria and Minister Piccini at Queens Park 3 weeks ago. A number of our stakeholders attended with us, and made several serious suggestions that NEED to occur to stop the chaos on the roads. We have given insights and background information to a few of the MPPs who want to see changes, and not just in their ridings.

Your Association has been invited to a Policy Strategy meeting by Queens Park regarding a change in the law to make a ruling on whether a student must hold a valid G license for a year, before attempting the AZ license exam.
We know it is a very difficult time to run a quality school in this environment. Humber College is collapsing their training program in 2 weeks. Competition has never been greater for a dwindling student population. Quality carriers are less likely to reach out for paid help in this environment. Our Association must stand by our principles that set us apart from the other schools to maintain our credibility and quality.

We look forward to seeing you join in to the SERCO virtual meeting on January 8th to see what has transpired at the Test Centers in the past 12 months, and to answer your questions. Gary Cook is very forthright on what matters to our schools.