MP Olivia Chow and Canadian truck manufacturer take leadership on life-saving sideguards

TORONTO – NDP Official Opposition Transport critic, Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina), is pleased to announce that Shu-Pak, a Canadian manufacturer of heavy trucks, will be voluntarily installing sideguards on all of its new vehicles.

“The employees and owners of Shu-Pak Equipment Inc. believe that safety must be a top priority for all manufacturers and operators,” said David Tanner, President of Shu-Pak, which is located in Cambridge, Ontario. “Providing side impact guards on all new Shu-Pak side-loaders is our contribution towards preventing future tragedies.”

Chow has a private members bill, C-344, that would make sideguards mandatory in Canada, which has been the case in Europe for over 30 years. Support for Chow’s bill includes the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and Ontario’s chief coroner recently recommended the federal government implement similar legislation.

“My family and I believe that sideguards might have saved my husband Ulrich's life and hope that one day in the near future trucking companies will come to consider sideguards as standard equipment,” said Karen McNeil Hartmann.

Chow calls on the federal government to improve safety for all road users by supporting bill C-344 and directing Transport Canada to continue studying this life-saving safety device.