(September 26, 2022) Transport Canada, the Provinces and Territories have made available an optional hours of service exemption for extra-provincial truck undertakings to assist in the response of Hurricane Fiona.

Termed, the “Targeted Essential Freight Transport Exemption to Support the Emergency Response to Hurricane Fiona in the Atlantic Provinces”, the measure provides options for an hours of service exemption designed solely to assist support efforts by extra-provincial truck undertakings and their drivers to transport essential supplies and equipment, in direct assistance to the emergency relief efforts in response to Hurricane Fiona in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

The exemption comes for temporary relief from the scheduling provisions in sections 12 to 29 of the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations.

There are several detailed conditions associated with the exemption that carriers are strongly encouraged to review, some of which include but are not limited to:

• That the carrier must notify in writing the hours of service director in their base jurisdiction that they want to utilize the exemption, prior to commencement;
• That the carrier must list all drivers and vehicles to participate under the exemption and provide that to the hours of service director prior to commencement;
• That a copy of the exemption must be carried in every vehicle operating under the exemption;
• That the driver must indicate in the remarks section of their daily log if they are operating under the exemption on that day;
• That a carrier cannot have a “conditional” or “unsatisfactory” safety rating;
• That the driver or carrier cannot be under an out-of-service order;

A full copy of the Targeted Essential Freight Transport Exemption to Support the Emergency Response to Hurricane Fiona in the Atlantic Provinces (that include all of the conditions that must be met) can be obtained by clicking here (EN) and here (FR).  Carriers should review the details of the exemption option in its entirety before proceeding.