At the STA trade show booth, the SARM delegates were interested in discussing important issues like driver training, new technology, and the condition of road infrastructure across the province. We appreciate that there was interest from the many different municipalities as they have a lot in common with the trucking industry. Some of the parallels are the reliance on the condition of the road network in our province, the issue of being faced with an aging working demographic with limited succession options to fill job vacancies, and that they are faced with the increased cost of goods and services in their operations. I am not sure we solved any of the world’s problems during our conversations, but we can certainly say we saw very parallel situations that will need to have answers sooner than later for both organizations. During some of the slower times during the two days, we had a chance to check out the other parts of the trade show and catch up with some of our current members in attendance. We asked them about what they have been up to and met some of the people in their organizations that we don’t normally get to speak to. It was a good chance to enlighten them on projects we are working on and find out what is important to them in the trucking industry in 2024. It was also an opportunity to find some time to introduce ourselves to attendees at the trade show that we did not know about.

Our policy analyst, Mackenzie, spent time at the conference presentations where government officials presented awards, shared important information through a series of fireside chats and bearpit sessions, and shared their vision of Saskatchewan’s future. It was a long couple of days, but we feel it is worth the effort to be able to have access to so many of the province’s representatives in one location. A big shout out to the team at the SARM association for putting together a great convention and a big thanks to everyone who dropped by our booth to say hello an talk about trucking. Take care and catch up with us again next year!