Ontario truckers consider offer before deciding on protest The Associated Press 9/21/00 7:22 PM

TORONTO (AP) -- An Ontario government offer to help truckers recoup some of their spiraling fuel costs may not be enough to avert their plans to shut down big rigs in protest.

An emergency meeting Thursday between trucking representatives and Ontario's Economic Development Minister Al Palladini held out some hope for truckers, who have been struggling with diesel prices that have increased at least 75 percent over the past year.

Truckers say that without immediate help, many more drivers will have to give up their trucks and find other ways to earn a living.

But the National Truckers Association, a renegade group of independent truckers that has been leading the call for a protest, said its next move will be up to members.

"I'll be taking it back to our board and we'll sit down and discuss this tonight and during tomorrow," said president Bill Wellman.

Independent truckers in Ontario had threatened to park their rigs at 5 p.m. on Friday if no solution was on the horizon.

Even as the meeting went on, truckers throughout southern Ontario began to flex their muscles, parking in the lanes of weigh stations and heeding a call to drive slowly, clogging busy highways.

But Ontario said it would help truckers by ensuring shippers pass along fuel surcharges to the independent drivers -- and will do it through industry regulations if necessary.

"With the possible consideration of regulating certain things, I believe that may be our trump card," Palladini said after the meeting.

Ontario has already promised to increase its own contracts with shippers to reflect higher fuel costs. And the province said it will ensure the extra cash trickles down to the owner-operators who actually do the driving and pay for the fuel.

Wellman, who has been thrust to the forefront of Ontario's trucking crisis, seemed personally pleased with Palladini's promise of help.

"We are encouraged that today is the first step of a long road to make these changes in the industry," he said.

David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association, which represents about 1,700 companies that operate in Ontario, was also pleased with the meeting.

"I think we've made some significant progress," said Bradley.

http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?n0395_BC_Canada--Truckers-Prot&&news&newsflash-international

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 22, 2000