By Jason Foster, AFL Staff

Albertans have known for a number of years that the Alberta government doesn’t take enforcement of its laws seriously. Whether it is environment, employment standards or health and safety, working Albertans have come to expect the government’s lack of action. The Conservative government has consistently demonstrated that it will not hold corporations accountable for breaking the law.

At least we could at least console ourselves that the laws still existed and that one day we might elect a government willing to enforce them.

But that may be changing. Take the following story as an example.

In the spring of 1998, the media in northern Alberta revealed that log haul trucks were regularly and consistently transporting loads that exceeded the maximum Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of the truck, and that the department of Transportation was actively permitting them to do so.

Under transport and Occupational Health and Safety law, no vehicle is supposed to operate over the manufacturer-specified GVW.

From the ensuing controversy, the government struck a "senior level task force" made up of forestry industry representatives and senior government officials to find a solution. The task force hired a private consultant to research the public safety and worker safety risks associated with overloading log haul trucks. The consultant found they were minimal.

Based on the consultant’s report the Task Force recommended that the law be changed to permit these trucks to run at weight’s greater than the manufacturer-specified GVW.

Maybe this doesn’t sound too unreasonable. But here comes the catch. Read the proposed amendment to the General Safety Regulation of the OH&S Act, which the regulation covering work-related motor vehicles.

"(5) An employer who operates a truck with a load that exceeds the manufacturer’s specifications for the maximum weight of the load may, instead of complying with subsections (4)(a) and (4)(b), complete a written assessment of hazards relating to safe operation of the truck and implement controls that ensure safe operation." (NOTE: Subsection 4 is the section that requires vehicles to operate within manufacturer’s specifications.)

This wording has already been approved by the Minister, before any public consultation or feedback.

A number of concerns arise immediately upon reading the proposed wording:

1. The proposal is a blanket exemption to anyone who operates a "truck" regulated by the province. This is far beyond log trucks. It includes gravel trucks, garbage trucks, pick-up trucks, one-tons and many, many other trucks.
2. There is no requirement for the employer to show or submit their "hazard assessment" to the government for approval.
3. It is the employer, and the employer alone (not the manufacturer, government or an engineer) who determines what a "safe" weight is.

In short, the Alberta government has chosen to solve a small, industry-specific matter by throwing away any rules around gross vehicle weight. It is like trimming your beard with a machete – the tool is likely to cause more damage than the initial problem.

Rather than stop the cheating, the government has chosen to legitimize the cheating.

Why are they doing this? When given a chance to question Workplace Health and Safety officials about the matter, they claim little will change. Under further pressure, they made a very telling admission.

They say two things. First, they say they "trust" employers to conduct full and complete "hazard assessment" and to act with complete honesty and diligence.

Second – and likely most importantly -- the proposal exists because, they say, they have not enforced the existing regulation for years, are not currently enforcing it, and have no plans to enforce in the future. In other words, they are throwing up their arms and saying "we surrender".

This, I fear is the end result of a government that blindly believes in "self-regulation". By letting the employers police themselves, the government has abandoned its traditional role enforcing the laws.

What we are now discovering – to our horror – is that apparently after you have neglected the enforcement role for long enough, you forget that you ever had the power. And then you start drafting regulations that explicitly allow employers free reign.

They have written a regulation that can never be enforced, based on the assumption that it never will be enforced. What, then is the purpose of regulation at all? The Conservative government in Alberta is now creating laws that nullify themselves. Seems kind of absurd, doesn’t it?

As employers flex their new found self-regulating muscle, I suspect we may see more government regulations and standards slowly eroded and eliminated.

Maybe this is a small matter, not greatly affecting Albertans’ health and safety. Or maybe, just maybe it is a sign of things to come.