Mr. Speaker, I was going to make a statement on aboriginal policing, but the information that I gave to research didn't reflect what I was going to say. So I will do one on trucking.
Today I wish to speak on some of the regulations that affect truckers operating on highways in the Northwest Territories. I believe some of these regulations do not deal realistically with operating conditions found in the Northwest Territories during its short construction season. For example, truckers who are working on a construction project are only allowed to work 70 hours per week before they must take a day off. Persons working as grader or bulldozer operators can work 12 hours per day, seven days a week for a total of 84 hours without taking a break or taking a day off. They are working on the highway. They are working for the same contractor.
In Alberta, truckers can work up to 13 hours per day, seven days a week if they have the right exemption from the Alberta Labour Board. Why can't we have something like that, except that we limit it to vehicles working on construction projects only? In the winter-time the government has made allowance for truck drivers involved in winter road hauls because of the short season. Why can't we do the same for truck drivers involved in the equally short construction season?
Now, you might say that the truckers have to be restricted in the amount of hours they work in the interest of highway safety. But, I submit that we are not dealing with long-haul drivers who need to be legislated, as to how much they work, to keep the road safe for all of us. We are dealing with a group of drivers who drive from the gravel pile to the job site, a distance that is rarely more than ten miles away. They are already in the construction zone. People should be watching for them.
I think with a little bit of common sense, we can deal with the problem of how many hours a truck driver can work in the Northwest Territories.
Another thing about the regulations that govern truck drivers in the Northwest Territories...