The Western Professional Truckers Association was founded in 1994 as a regional association - in direct response to what was described at the time as "heavy handed" law enforcement in and around the Thompson Nicola Region of British Columbia.
Once formed, the executive board of the WPTA scheduled and held several meetings with local and provincial governments to discuss the overwhelming amount of citations which were being issued in the region. Ultimately the WPTA was successful in changing the attitude and direction of law enforcement officials in the area.
In subsequent years, WPTA was directly involved in meeting with various levels of government and offering insight in regard to critical items of road safety such as Highway Winter Maintenance and other subjects which directly affect not only professional drivers but all road users alike.
If you want to change the future, you must change what you are doing in the present.
-Mark Twain
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...and let's make the change together!
Over the past decade there has been little need for a regional association and the WPTA has, for the most-part, remained idle.
While regional issues have been very quiet, provincial and national issues have been quite the opposite.
This sample of implemented regulations gives us a glimpse into the challenges faced by both our government and our industry however, what was most evident about these changes was the lack of industry consultation. The people most affected (drivers) were offered little to no opportunity to contribute to the discussions prior to the implementation of these substantial regulatory changes.
After considerable deliberation the WPTA executive board voted unanimously to push past the boundary of "regional representation", to an association which considers the men and women behind the wheel to be the largest group of stakeholders in the industry and deserving of recognition as such.
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