The Saskatchewan Trucking Association is calling on the province to allow trucking companies to use tax-reduced dyed diesel when powering their refrigeration units. 

Saskatchewan Trucking Association Director of Operations and Member Services George Henderson explains that many industries aren’t required to pay the 12-cent-per-litre tax, such as agriculture, construction and forestry, as their equipment doesn’t technically use the province’s roads. He adds that, technically, neither do refrigeration units.

“There’s a road tax that’s applied to diesel fuel for the trucking industry to move products back and forth. One item uses diesel fuel, and it’s refrigerated trailer units. They’re not mobile. They don’t really use the roads, but they still have to pay the road tax.”

This is the argument the STA is presenting to the Province to encourage it to remove the tax. Henderson says the STA has, so far, reached out to the finance department, which was unsuccessful, so it will continue to contact different government departments until someone agrees to listen. 

Henderson says the 12 extra cents per litre that trucking companies are forced to pay equates to $24,000 annually per refrigeration unit. These costs trickle down to the local level and are being felt by consumers at the grocery store to the tune of a four per cent increase in food costs last year. 

“It is refrigerated items, so it is going into mostly produce and medical supplies heading to grocery stores and pharmacies. Ultimately, they (the consumer) pay that road tax cause it’s part of the shipping costs that are applied from the carrier to their customer.”

He explains that the money saved, if the Province is to agree to make changes, would not be kept for profit. It would instead trickle back into the economy via equipment purchases, improvements and employee raises.

He hopes the provincial government will commit to reducing the cost of food for Saskatchewan people immediately and scrap the road tax for truck trailer refrigerator units.