To support the Memorandum of Understanding on Interprovincial Trucking, CCMTA is addressing the issues of carriers with problematic safety records and guiding more consistency in rating carrier performance. Here is a snapshot of that work:
NATIONAL SAFETY CODE (NSC) FOR MOTOR CARRIERS
The National Safety Code (NSC) in Canada is a set of 16 standards developed by the member jurisdictions of CCMTA in consultation with the motor carrier industry to ensure road safety and to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of people and goods across Canada.
The NSC is designed to create a comprehensive code of minimum performance standards for the safe operation of passenger and commercial vehicles across the country.
The NSC provides guidance for legislative, regulatory, and administrative action by each jurisdiction and focuses on three components: the driver, the vehicle, and the carrier. It has a specific focus on those responsible for the operation of commercial vehicles on the road, including trucks, buses, tractors, and trailers.
CCMTA is responsible for the upkeep of the National Safety Code. Through CCMTA’s member representatives from the provincial, territorial and federal governments and in consultation with industry, NSC standards are monitored, reviewed, and updated to ensure the standards retain their effectiveness and are responsive to new industry needs, technology and regulatory changes to keep the Canadian regulatory regime focused on road safety.
CCMTA members have done a comprehensive review of NSC 7, 14, and 15. Updating these standards in tandem is important as they share common identifiers to support tracking across jurisdictions and reduce the risk of carriers avoiding scrutiny through name and/or jurisdiction changes.
Let’s unpack some of the work currently underway:
NSC 7 ON CARRIER AND DRIVER PROFILES
Standard 7 is designed to provide jurisdictions with a record of driver and carrier performance in terms of compliance with safety rules and regulations. The standard supports enforcement activity to remove unsatisfactory drivers and carriers from service and identifies the type of information which will be maintained on each commercial driver and carrier. Standard 7 was previously revised in November 2002.
NSC 7 has undergone an iterative drafting and review process to strengthen the carrier profile by:
- Improving compliance and monitoring data
- Modernizing definitions
- Strengthening carrier information requirements
- Improving visibility of carrier status and safety rating history; and
- Enhanced detection of chameleon/problematic carriers
NSC 14 ON SAFETY RATING
This is a standard that establishes the motor carrier safety rating framework by which each jurisdiction assesses the safety performance of motor carriers. This standard was last revised in August 2009.
NSC 14 has been reviewed with a lens of modernizing the application framework. This will shift NSC 14 from a passive application process to a proactive risk screening tool, helping prevent high-risk carriers from entering or re-entering the system.
Proposed amendments to NSC 14 and a summary of work completed to date includes:
- Developing a draft set of proposed requirements for applying for a carrier identification number that aims to provide guidance to jurisdictions
- Development of a modernized application framework
- Expanding declarations and disclosure requirements
- Integration with NSC 7; and
- Supporting identification of high-risk / problematic carriers.
NSC 15 ON FACILITY AUDITS
Standard 15 outlines the audit process used by jurisdictions to determine a carrier's level of compliance with all applicable safety standards. This standard was previously updated in December 2003.
CCMTA’s initial intent was to revise NSC 15, but upon review, CCMTA is conducting a full re-write of the Standard to better reflect current enforcement and audit realities, support harmonization, and address systemic issues such as misclassification of drivers and problematic carriers.
The repurposed Standard provides for a comprehensive, structured, nationally consistent audit framework rather than a high-level guideline. The modernization covers:
- Audit lifecycle — from initiation to completion
- Scope and methodology; and
- Scoring, reporting, and outcomes
These efforts will lay the foundation, ensuring carrier data is collected in a consistent way across jurisdictions so that CCMTA can expand our Carrier Data Exchange, allowing jurisdictions to share data in real time across the country.
CCMTA’s 2026 Annual Meeting in early June 2026 allowed for industry participation and consultation for a robust exchange of information and knowledge-sharing on NSC 7, 14 and 15 to ensure awareness and comfort with the revised approach.
Up next: CCMTA will finalize draft revisions to NSC 7, 14 (application process), and 15 shortly with the aim of presenting these to the Council of Deputy Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety in the Fall of 2026 and the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety thereafter. CCMTA expects to consult industry on the revised Standards this summer.
CCMTA will continue to review the Carrier Safety Rating process and outcomes contained in NSC 14. This work is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 and will also include industry consultation.
CARRIER DATA EXCHANGE
The Carrier Data Exchange (CDE) is the national system that moves commercial carrier safety data, namely inspections, accidents, and convictions, between Canadian jurisdictions.
It ensures that each carrier’s home jurisdiction can maintain a complete safety record no matter where an event occurs in the country.
As a file-based (FTP) exchange, the CDE is the backbone that makes the National Safety Code work across provincial and territorial borders. The goal is to expand its capacity in sharing data across all jurisdictions.
CCMTA is modernizing the CDE into a single, centralized service built on a modern Application Programming Interface (API).
This new service will merge functions into one platform: exchanging incidents, allowing jurisdictions to inquire directly on one another’s systems. The goal is to expand the capacity of the CDE and to share data across all jurisdictions, bringing a national approach to carrier oversight and address the issue of chameleon carriers.
CCMTA remains committed to ensuring full engagement with members and industry throughout the process.
Together, the new CDE will deliver a complete, country-wide picture of every commercial carrier to support consistent, data-driven enforcement and safer roads.
MISCLASSIFICATION OF COMMERCIAL DRIVERS
A Misclassification of Commercial Drivers Working Group was established in the Fall of 2025, to coordinate national efforts – within the mandate of CCMTA – to help address the misclassification of commercial vehicle drivers as evidenced through Drivers Inc. The Group’s mandate includes defining objectives and roles through enforcement actions, making connections, and public education within the mandate of CCMTA.
Through a collaborative process within its membership, this group will explore how to proactively share data with other agencies including the Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada to bring greater awareness of the Drivers Inc issue and the impact on the industry. CCMTA is currently meeting with these federal departments to understand accountabilities and roles.
Continue to follow CCMTA on LinkedIn and monitor these updates on the CCMTA website.
