The trucking industry wants a joint federal-provincial enforcement base at the Shuniah inspection station east of Thunder Bay
The Ontario Trucking Association wants federal and provincial regulators stationed together at the Thunder Bay East inspection complex
SHUNIAH — The Ontario Trucking Association is asking Ottawa and Queen’s Park to establish a joint enforcement pilot at the Thunder Bay East commercial-vehicle inspection station, arguing that the Trans-Canada Highway gateway is a strategic place to check safety, tax, labour and workplace-insurance compliance together.
The association’s proposal, released Wednesday, would bring relevant federal and provincial regulators into a structured operation at the Highway 11/17 complex in Shuniah. The OTA says the site is moving toward 24-hour operation and could serve as a permanent base for coordinated enforcement.
No federal or provincial approval for the proposed pilot was identified by the publication deadline. The announcement is an industry request, not a new government program.
The OTA points to a 2026 joint initiative involving Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, the Canada Revenue Agency, Employment and Social Development Canada and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. According to the association, agencies carried out 676 specialized MTO inspections and 1,599 other compliance interactions at 14 inspection-station locations, including Thunder Bay.
The campaign is aimed partly at what the trucking industry calls Driver Inc., arrangements in which drivers who function as employees are treated as incorporated contractors. Federal material describes worker misclassification as a labour and tax-compliance concern that can deny employees protections while allowing businesses to avoid obligations.
The CRA says Budget 2025 provided $77 million over four years, beginning in 2026-27, and $19.2 million annually after that for a program addressing non-compliance involving personal-services businesses and trucking service-fee reporting. Changes also allow information sharing with federal labour officials for misclassification enforcement.
The location gives the proposal a direct Northwestern Ontario consequence. Highway 11/17 is the main east-west road connection through the region, carrying long-haul freight as well as local traffic. Ontario opened the $30-million Shuniah inspection station in 2024 with equipment designed to detect problems such as underinflated tires and malfunctioning brakes.
The OTA is asking governments to build on the existing roadside blitz model with a sustained presence. It has not published a proposed start date, staffing plan or cost for the Shuniah pilot, and the two levels of government have not publicly committed to it.
