The government says it’s earmarking money in the upcoming budget to crack down on a tax-evasion scheme the trucking industry has long derided as a $1-billion scam.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), the voice of the country’s trucking industry, has dubbed the scam "Driver Inc."
It occurs when companies try to save money on payroll taxes by incorrectly classifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
As part of the federal budget set to be tabled on Nov. 4, the Carney government is planning to spend $19.2 million per year toward the problem starting in 2026-27.
The money will help the Canada Revenue Agency strengthen compliance.
“I want to be very clear: misclassification is exploitation. It strips workers of their rights, and it creates an uneven playing field for the many honest companies that follow the rules,” Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said at a parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday.
“Too often, it is vulnerable workers who are hit the hardest. Many of them are newcomers to Canada who have trusted that the system will protect them.”
The funds will allow the CRA to lift a moratorium on penalties for failing to report fees for service transactions on T4A slips and to implement a program to address non-compliance issues related to personal services businesses and reporting fees for service.
Trucking alliance has been 'sounding the alarm'Stephen Laskowski, president and CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), previously told CBC News he’s been lobbying the federal government on the issue for nearly a decade.
Earlier this month, Laskowski appeared at a federal transport committee meeting to again make his case.
“The CTA has been sounding the alarm with the federal cabinet and provinces since 2018,” he said.
“The problems identified in 2018 have since been left to grow unchecked, and in 2025 they have evolved into a full-blown crisis of compliance, road safety, drug trafficking, human rights abuses, rampant labour law and tax fraud. It’s been allowed to become out of control.”
Bloc claims political winTax reform to help address Driver Inc. was one of 18 requests the Bloc Québécois made of the federal government ahead of this year’s budget.
In his remarks at committee, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon noted the government announcement directly responded to one of the Bloc's requests.
In a Thursday news release, Bloc Québécois transport critic Xavier Barsalou-Duval said the party is pleased the Liberals are taking action, though he added there is still work to be done on the issue and called for a formal inquiry into driver exploitation in the trucking industry.
While questioning Hajdu at committee, Barsalou-Duval said previous Liberal reforms to help address the issue have not translated into meaningful changes on the ground.
“This is a real big problem in the sector. You’re dealing with a real problem here. At one point you’re going to have to take this matter seriously,” he said.
Conservative MP Philip Lawrence pressed Hajdu to provide a firm date for when Driver Inc. would no longer be a problem.
Hajdu traced the practice of misclassifying truck drivers to a deregulation brought in under former prime minister Stephen Harper that imposed a moratorium on penalties for a missing or incomplete entry on T4A tax slips.
Witnesses told the committee that ending the moratorium would provide a paper trail to help the government catch bad actors engaging in the Driver Inc. scam.
"Sometimes we have to take a step back and realize that some regulations really matter," Hajdu said. "And this one evidently did."