Alberta extends deadline for farm workers to get mandatory truck driver training

EDMONTON – The Alberta government is extending a deadline for farm workers to get new mandatory truck driver training.

A coalition of the province’s agriculture producers had expressed concerns about the March 1 deadline.

The group said a lot of seasonal work relies on truck drivers and it would be difficult to get them tested in time for this year’s growing season.

The government says it consulted with the agriculture industry and has decided to extend the deadline for farm drivers to March 1 of next year.

Eligible farm workers must apply to Alberta Transportation to get approval for an extension.

Alberta moved to bring in more extensive training for drivers of semi-trucks and commercial buses after the Humboldt Broncos bus crash last April.

Sixteen people were killed and 13 injured when an inexperienced truck driver blew through a stop sign and into the path of the hockey team’s bus in rural Saskatchewan.