WOMEN DRIVING CHANGE The voice of women involved in the Canadian trucking industry. Leah Gorham hit the highway after a major career change PAGE 34 FALL 2024 | ISSUE #6 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 Read and share ! Pass your copy to a colleague! Proud contributors: From hospital rooms to open roads:“Living our dreams, and making good earnings out of our dream is only possible when we work with great people.I am happy to be a part of a team that holds a responsibility to provide safe, and well managed space for their Owner Operators, and employees to work with a peace of mind”. TRANSX.COM DRIVETRANSX.CA Prabhjot Kaur Professional Driver & Owner Operator COMPANY PROFILE Founded In 1963 Subsidiary Of CN Since 2019 12 Strategically Placed Terminals Throughout North AmericaWomen Driving Change Magazine // 5 FALL 2024 | ISSUE #6 ON THE COVER ON THE ROAD WITH... Leah Gorham, Galaxy Transport EMPOWERED, WITH SHELLEY WALKER, WOMEN’S TRUCKING FEDERATION OF CANADA Collaboration and cooperation keep the industry moving forward SOLUTIONS, BY MIKE MILLIAN, PRIVATE MOTOR TRUCK COUNCIL OF CANADA Women are doing great things at PMTC! FEATURES Rest assured: The push for sleep apnea testing in transportation Buyer beware: The rise of subpar driving training across Canada Leading safely: Recognizing the relationship between productivity and safety On The Road Quebec: Connecting Canada’s trucking industry Trucking for a Cure: There’s no better time than now to donate WHAT’S UP ONLINE? Women in the driver’s seat: Supporting women in the transportation industry BENEATH THE HOOD WITH… Krista and Emily, GreatWest Kenworth BEHIND THE SCENES WITH… Chris Darch, Don Anderson Haulage Ltd. INDEX TO ADVERTISERS 34 08 12 14 16 21 26 28 32 38 36 42 IN THIS ISSUE 34 14 1632 Cover shot: Leah Gorham, a long-haul trucker from Rothesay, New Brunswick, traded in her scrubs for a super deluxe Peterbilt 579 Ultra-Loft after 15 years as a licensed practical nurse. Now she sees North America, along with her dog Jenny and her partner Roland, from the driver's seat.6 // www.womendrivingchangemagazine.ca PUBLISHED BY: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. Return all undeliverable addresses to: 309 Youville Street Winnipeg, Manitoba R2H 2S9 Toll-Free Phone: (866) 999-1299 Toll-Free Fax: (866) 244-2544 sales@matrixgroupinc.net / www.matrixgroupinc.net Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 President & CEO Jack Andress Operations Manager Shoshana Weinberg | sweinberg@matrixgroupinc.net Senior Publisher Jessica Potter | jpotter@matrixgroupinc.net Publishers Julie Welsh, Christine Scarisbrick Editor-in-Chief Shannon Savory | ssavory@matrixgroupinc.net Editors/Social Media Managers Jenna Collignon, Paul Adair, Kaitlin Vitt Finance/Administration Lloyd Weinberg, Nathan Redekop accounting@matrixgroupinc.net Director of Circulation & Distribution Lloyd Weinberg | distribution@matrixgroupinc.net Sales Manager Jeff Cash | jcash@matrixgroupinc.net Matrix Group Publishing Inc. Account Executives Colleen Bell, Jackie Casburn, Rob Gibson, Jim Hamilton, Scott Hendren, Frank Kenyeres, Sandra Kirby, Charlie Langsford, Andrew Lee, Brian MacIntyre, Lynn Murphy, Caitlin Nakamura, Wilma Gray-Rose, Luke Stevens, Joseph Ukaoha Advertising Design James Robinson Layout & Design Cody Chomiak ©2024 Matrix Group Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Matrix Group Publishing Inc. Printed in Canada. Email sales@matrixgroupinc.net to request a Media Kit. Check out the June 13th guest blog from Westhill Innovation, which introduces CEO Gina Succi and the work being done to transform the commercial transport market. https://womendrivingchangemagazine.ca/blog If you have a story idea, reach out to editor@matrixgroupinc.net. We’re looking for women to feature in future issues – drivers, mechanics, dispatchers, managers! Our team of story tellers are amazing at making even the shyest of interview subject comfortable in telling their story. We’d love to tell yours! Last, but not least, if you have a general story idea you think we need to cover, please reach out. We’d love to hear your suggestions and work together on bringing it to life. YOUR ARTICLES PUBLISHED! www.womendrivingchangemagazine.ca www.facebook.com/women-driving-change-magazine https://x.com/WomenDrivingMag Look for this symbol throughout the digital magazine to click directly to online resources. YOUR PHOTOS PUBLISHED! Women Driving Change wants to showcase the Canadian trucking industry and the hard-working women who are driving, dispatching, repairing, manufacturing, managing, selling, marketing, and running the shop! Your photos could be included in an upcoming issue of Women Driving Change and who knows – it might even end up on the cover! Email editor@matrixgroupinc.net with a sentence or two describing the shot, where it was taken, who we’re seeing, and the person / company that needs photo credit. This is a GREAT way to appreciate your staff and showcase your company in a magazine that is mailed Canada-wide. Women help make the wheels roll round. Let’s give them the recognition they deserve! PROUD CONTRIBUTORS: T he Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada8 // www.womendrivingchangemagazine.ca WTFC recently welcomed Isabelle Fournier from Contrans Group to our team. Isabelle is a dynamic young woman who will bring valuable skills and knowledge to the team. Thank you for joining our ranks, Isabele! WTFC and the Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation, (CITT) also formally announced our relationship as an industry alliance. I had the opportu- nity to attend and participate on a panel during their conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in June. I look forward to further collaboration in the future. I also had the opportunity to meet with our corporate members in Calgary, Alberta, this summer. I spent the day at the Big Rig Expo speaking with drivers and carriers. I had a lovely tour of Light Speed Logistics and learned about their ongoing training programs, as well as their new school. Thank you to those who took the time to meet with me dur- ing busy schedules. As an organization, we are also actively working to ensure the safety of professional truck drivers across Can- ada. From safe parking areas to acces- sible washrooms, WTFC is vigorously working with government to bring about change to these realities of driving in Canada. We promote the importance of the occupation throughout Canada; therefore, we need to step up and pro- mote safety related to the occupation as well. Last but not least WTFC wishes to thank all the advertisers, interviewees, and writers who have taken part in this publication. The support that is being shown is phenomenal and illustrates just he Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada (WTFC) is very happy to be includ- ed in the Women Driving Change mag- azine. The importance of this publication can be felt through- out the industry as each new edition is printed and shared. As an organization that is continually trying to improve the representation of females in our sec- tor, it is welcoming to see Women Driv- ing Change showcase the importance women play in transportation. This pub- lication is so crucial to showing women that great careers can be built, and this will help all of us expand our industry. The Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada is a network of women and men who are driven to empower, assist, and mentor women throughout the country’s trucking industry. We are a not-for-prof- it, membership driven organization with a huge support team throughout Canada. Our motto is, “In the Office, Under the Hood, or Behind the Wheel. We’re all pieces of the puzzle” because we sup- port all women and men who are work- ing in the industry. The trucking industry actively works with WTFC to highlight the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as accessibility in our industry. As an organization that is actively engaged in government conversations, both pro- vincial and federal, we are always at the table expressing the importance of women to Canada’s trucking industry, as well as the importance of keeping them safe and supported. Shelley Walker EMPOWERED WOMEN’S TRUCKING FEDERATION OF CANADA: BOARD OF DIRECTORS Thank you to the phenomenal team who actively works to support the WTFC! CEO Shelley Walker Founder/CEO EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Samantha Clarke NATT Safety Services Johanne Couture Contrans Tank Group DIRECTORS Caroline Carter King Freight Lines Limited Deborah Gee KAG Canada Isabelle Fournier Contrans Tank Group Joanne Millen Trucking for a Cure Margaret Hogg J.G. Drapeau Transport & Commercial Warehousing Limited (Retired) Sukhdeep Kang Armour Insurance Brokers Ltd. Sherry Mossman Northern Resource Trucking Laura Muir Polaris Transportation Group Fiona Stone Stone Insurance T Collaboration and cooperation keep the industry moving forward Women Driving Change Magazine // 9 how strongly sector leaders feel about welcoming women to the industry. It is so important to the growth and suc- cess of the trucking profession, and to women and men working in it, that we all continue to work together to make the trucking industry a diverse and wel- coming environment for everyone. Thank you for your interest in the and for taking the time to read this issue Women Driving Change maga- zine. On behalf of WTFC, we hope you all enjoyed your summer and had time to spend with your family and friends. We hope to connect with you at our conference in September and at other industry events throughout the remainder of 2024. ONLINE: www.womenstruckingfederationofcanada.net FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/WTFC2015 X: www.x.com/WTFC7 INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/wtfc2015 LINKEDIN: www.linkedin.com/company/women-s- trucking-federation-of-canada DIGITAL CONNECTIONS In the Office, Under the Hood, or Behind the Wheel. We’re All Pieces of the Puzzle! As an organization that is actively engaged in government conversations, both provincial and federal, we are always at the table expressing the importance of women to Canada’s trucking industry, as well as the importance of keeping them safe and supported. Photo courtesy Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash The Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada (WTFC) is a network of trucking professionals that was created to empower, expand, and retain employment of – and shift attitudes about – women in the industry and beyond. If this sounds like something you’d like to be involved with (and it should!) consider joining WTFC as a corporate member, corporate partner, or friend/supporter. WTFC aims to provide a platform and open environment for women across the transportation industry to come together, problem solve, share ideas, and help to promote the industry to future generations as a viable career option. This is not just an organization; this is a network and we hope you will join us! Let’s connect! Web: www.womenstruckingfederationofcanada.net Facebook: www.facebook.com/WTFC2015 X: www.x.com/WTFC7 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/women-s-trucking- federation-of-canadaNext >