Truck Driver Work Permits

When it comes to work permits there are certian issues that are somewhat unique to truck drivers.

Mandatory Entry-Level Training

Over the years Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Service Canada have had different policies regarding MELT. The most recent on this is that employers must confirm who will pay for MELT, if wages will be paid during the training period, and require documentation confirming.

Language

In Sangha v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 95 Justice Russel stated that “safety must surely be a pramount requirement for competence” in the case of long-haul truck drivers, and that applicants must accordingly provide evidence of compliance.

In Patel v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2021 FC 573 Justice Brown further determined that it is reasonable for an officer to consider the issue of an applicant’s ability to drive safely on Canadian roads when assessing the overall suitability of an applicant to become a Canadian long-haul truck driver, even if visa office checklists do not require this. There, the applicant had provided an Extract of Driving License which only listed driving licenses and did not list whether an individual had a history of any infractions or safety violations.

In Singh v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FC 80, Justice Pamel stated that it was important that truck driver applicants provide driving records which clearly state whether they have ever had driving infractions so that officers do not possibly misinterpret the record as indicating whether there are any current or outstanding infractions.

Mr. Singh argues that the Officer’s requirement of evidence of the history of traffic violations is bizarre because the UAE Traffic Clearance Certificate itself indicates that there are “no fines recorded on the federal traffic & license program” in relation to Mr. Singh. In other words, the UAE Traffic Clearance Certificate confirmed that Mr. Singh had no history of traffic violations in the UAE. However, as I discussed with Mr. Singh’s counsel during the hearing, it is not clear from the UAE Traffic Clearance Certificate whether it only lists outstanding traffic violations as opposed to Mr. Singh’s entire violation history, including traffic violations that have been paid. There is no evidence as to how I should read the statement on the UAE Traffic Clearance Certificate, and given that the Officer was fully aware of and specifically mentions this document in the Decision, I have no reason to believe that the Officer understood the UAE Traffic Clearance Certificate otherwise than to mean that Mr. Singh had no current outstanding traffic violations. That is the only interpretation that makes sense given the manner in which the Officer wrote his/her decision.

There have also been contradictory opinions on whether the difference in weather conditions between Dubai and Canada is a relevant factor. In Singh v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2021 FC 1107, Madam Justice McDonald stated:

Likewise, here the job offer does not reference the requirement to ““read driving manuals” “or dictate a minimum IELTS result required. Furthermore, the Officer’s comments on the difference in weather and driving conditions between Canada and UAE, appear to be unrelated to the job requirements. In any event, the Officer was not in a position to assess the Applicant’s skills and ability to drive in Canadian weather conditions (Chen v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2000 CanLII 15495 (FC)). That responsibility will fall to the employer.

In Singh v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2021 FC 1164, Madam Justice Pallota stated:

Different weather and terrain affects road conditions, and it was not unreasonable for the Officer to note the differences between Canada and the UAE in this regard.

Manual

The following PDF are instructions used at the Canadian visa office for processing work permits from truck drivers.