The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) announced today the launch of new cargo crime awareness program that focuses on the high-risk 401 corridor between Ontario and Quebec.
Dubbed "Project Momentum," the campaign will see the CTA partner with CargoNet, various police agencies and the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA).
The project has two phases. A public awareness and multi-media campaign are part of the first phase, with three workshops on cargo crime mitigation strategies. The workshops will be attended by carriers, law enforcement, shippers, insurance representatives, as well as officials from all three levels of government.
The first workshop will be held on September 5 in Burford, ON., hosted by OTA Chairman and Jeff Bryan Transport president, Jeff Bryan.
"The goal is to educate everyone from carriers, to the courts, to the public of the scope and seriousness of cargo crime and the impact it and the organized syndicates behind it is having not only on the business world but in our communities," he said. "There is some momentum building," says Bryan. "Industry has taken the first steps, law enforcement is there beside us to help, but so much more needs to be done."
Including, he says, tougher sentencing, which is where the second phase of the project focuses — providing training and awareness to law enforcement, including raising the profile of cargo crime and its consequences in the judicial system.
The CTA said there are plans to roll out similar events in other hot spots across Canada.
