Jim in the Great White North

The O.P.P. patrols the 407 these patrols include enforcing the highway traffic act,speeding,accidents etc.This is reasonable but what I can't understand is why a taxpayer funded police force is in fact collecting tolls for a privately held company?The O.P.P. watch for heavy trucks not displaying a transponder and will stop and ticket them.Collection of tolls would be a civil matter,so how does our provincal government justifiy a taxpayer funded police force collecting tolls for a private company.Taxpayers should be actively contacting their M.P.P.'s and asking them why their tax dollars are helping a private company to collect tolls!

First prediction is Quebec will be the first to pass speed limiter laws dealing with trucks.Ontario Trucking Association was the first to table this issue,but have been silent on the issue lately.This silence is due partly over driver concerns that we should all be paid hourly if this passes!But Quebec will pass it and try and force it on everybody else!I predict U.S. ow/op will refuse loads going into the P.Q.over this issue.Fuel prices will continue to spike forcing a rate hike,but it is unlikely that big companies and load brokers will pass these hikes down the food chain!Hopefuly ow/op company drivers will wake up in 2008 and demand higher rates and hourly wages if we all stuck together for 5 DAYS we could crash the North American economy,We are the most powerful workforce in North America.GM,FORD or Chysler go on strike governments kiss their collective butts to get them to the table.Just think if every truck driver in North America shut down for five days?THE SKYS FALLING,I CAN...

I recently received another bill from the 407,usualy its file 13 garbage,but this one was marked 'IMPORTANT"so I opened it inside was a form to dispute a 407 bill.THIS FORM CLEARLY STATED IF IT WAS FILLED OUT AND RETURNED TO THE 407 AND THEY FAIL TO REPLY WITHIN THIRTY DAYS THE BILL IS NULL AND VOID!I filled it out and clearly marked disputed along with a letter requesting an image of the plate used.So I will wait the thirty days and see what happpens.But watch your mail for this form!I notice from the comments on my blog that some of you are receiving calls from the 407 collection agencies which are annoying.One tactic I used to end those calls was to use two phone lines once the collection agency phones phone them back repeatedly for half an hour(use redial)it jams their lines and literaly drives them nuts!I haven"t received a call from NOR-DON since in fact they:ve kicked my bill back to the 407!

There is a big debate about speedlimiters here in North America,my stand on the issue is simple.Any driver four wheeler,eighteen wheeler or two wheeler who cannot control their driving behaviour should have a court mandated speed limiter.Let me explain this futher the courts here in Ontario can order an igintion interlock system for convicted impaired drivers,so why not impose court orderd speed limiter on drivers convicted of three speeding convictions over a certain threshold?The Ontario Trucking Ass.,Challenger Motor Freight and Kriska Transportation have all stood on a soap box and told everybody the benefits of speed limiters,what they have failed to tell everybody is the real effect it will have on drivers/ow/op wages.They are paid by the mile simple,in the perfect world a truck traveling from Montreal to Windsor at 62 mph with no stops the driver is making barrels of cash!Well what happens if the driver runs into a road closure at Port Hope due to an accident and sits there for ...

This is a laymans take of last nights debate,"DALTON McGUINTY WAS HIGHLY CRITIZED FOR BREAKING THE PROMISE TO CLOSE COAL FIRED GENERATION PLANTS BY JOHN TORY AND HOWARD HAMPTON,THINK ABOUT THIS ONE NEITHER OFFERED AN ALTERNATIVE TO COAL FIRED GENERATION,ARE WE TO CLOSE THESE PLANTS WITHOUT AN ALTERNATIVE?HAS THE TERM ROLLING BLACKOUTS ENTERED ANYONES MINDS!ALSO THE BIG THEME OF THE NIGHT WAS ONTARIO SHOULD SUPPLY INDUSTRY WITH CHEAP POWER MENTIONED BY BOTH TORY AND HAMPTON,WELL SORRY TO BURST ANYONES BUBBLE BUT TO SUPPLY INDUSTRY WITH CHEAP POWER THE COST IS GOING TO BE RECOVERED ELSEWHERE[would it come from taxpayers}.JOHN TORY'S PLAN TO CUT TAXES YET INCREASE SERVICES DOESN'T MAKE SENSE,WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM TO INCREASE SERVICES?JOHN TORY ALSO MADE NOTE THAT ONTARIO WAS ALMOST LAST IN JOB CREATION IN CANADA,HAS HE BEEN HIDING UNDER A ROCK SOMEPLACE NOT TO NOTICE THAT ONTARIO IS LAGGING BEHIND ALBERTA,SASK.DUE TO THE OIL BOOM WHICH IS AKIN TO A MODERN DAY GOLD RU...

Three years ago I worked for a well known southwestern Ontario used truck dealer,as a truck driver.During my employment with this company I was forced under threat of losing my job to participate in the movment of goods from a company in Leamington,Ontario that was preparing for strike action by the union of that plant.These goods were moved under the cover of darkness to an address on Baseline,Wallaceburg,Ontario owned by the above mentioned used truck dealer.This same address in Wallaceburg,Ontario was used to store the scab buses that were used in the Navistar Strike which resulted in a C.A.W. member being run down and seriously hurt by security personel protecting those scab buses.I have in my hand emails that verifiy what I am stating here,these emails name,names including the used truck dealers accountant who incidently owns a well know flower shop in Blenheim,Ontario.So any union member who purchase flowers at this shop is unknowing supporting a verified strike breaker!As for th...

Dealing with these people I've learned a few things,#number #1 collection agencys bid for blocks of outstandinding accounts,so in other words if Nor=DON can pressure you or what ever to pay that outstanding account with no cost to them other than a couple of phone calls they've won !My point is 888 # it's at their cost phone them back repeatedly talk about the weather what ever,tye up their phone lines their # is 1-888-261-3147 point is who's paying the phone bill Nor- Don even though its toll free your only allowed so many minutes!