October 17, 2000 Independent truckers reject government-brokered deal on fuel surcharges

TORONTO (CP) -- The threat of continued trucking protests on Ontario's busy highways loomed large Tuesday evening after a government-brokered deal to bring needed cash to drivers fell through.

Visibly frustrated, Economic Development Minister Al Palladini said shippers and carriers agreed to pass on a fuel surcharge of between seven and 22 cents per mile to independent truckers.

But the Oshawa-based National Truckers Association rejected the deal and questioned the amount of cash involved.

"There's no one who's more disappointed than I am because I believe our government and our ministry has done such a tremendous job working on these issues," said Palladini, who has been trying to fix Ontario's troubled trucking industry for several months. "And why they turned it down, I wish I could give you that answer."

http://www.canoe.ca/OntQueTicker/CANOE-wire.Truckers-Protest.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 18, 2000