Citing what it called “willful and sustained non-compliance that posed serious and ongoing risk to the public”, the Alberta government announced it has shut down Conquer Transportation Inc., the company that was involved in a fatal crash outside Brandon in May.
In a release, Alberta Transport Minister Devin Dreeshen said the province had shut down 20 companies, one of them being Conquer Transportation. On May 27, one of their trucks was involved in a crash that killed a 49-year-old woman. Police allege the driver failed to stop at a stop sign and struck an SUV. Brijpal Panwar was charged with dangerous driving causing death as a result. The charges against him have not been tested in court.
“In June, Alberta took action against Conquer Transportation Inc. following a collision resulting in a fatality in Manitoba,” said Dreeshen in a statement. “An investigation identified willful and sustained non-compliance that posed serious and ongoing risk to the public. It was further determined that the carrier was engaged in chameleon practices to evade compliance and enforcement. Enforcement actions included $16,500 in administrative penalties and downgrading the carrier’s Safety Fitness Rating to Unsatisfactory, effectively shutting down its operations immediately.”
According to Dreeshen, 13 of the 20 companies they’ve shut down in the last ten months were engaged in “chameleon practices”, including slightly modifying names or changing jurisdictions after losing the right to practice elsewhere. The province of Manitoba has said Conquer Transportation had been operating under the name Conquer Transport in Manitoba when it lost its safety certificate in 2021.
“We continue to work with our federal and provincial/territorial partners to strengthen enforcement across jurisdictions including addressing chameleon carriers,” Dreeshen said. “Work is also underway by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators to develop a national database to address the loophole that carriers currently use to exploit gaps in interprovincial data sharing and enforcement. In Alberta alone, 40 chameleon carriers were prevented from obtaining their safety fitness certificates through documentation review.”
The Alberta government also said it has shut down five fraudulent class 1 driving schools.
