Vancouver port authority suspends Rolling Truck Age Program for at least nine months

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is suspending a controversial program to replace older trucks servicing the port for at least another nine months while it reassesses its plans.

It is the third time the port is postponing the Rolling Truck Program which was supposed to begin April 3 to phase out trucks more than 12 years old to improve air quality and community health.

Truckers that use the port say the onus is on owners and operators to replace the older vehicles at a steep cost even though many of them already meet emissions standards.

Last week four Liberal MPs from the Vancouver area asked federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to intervene.

Alghabra says deciding to suspend the new program again shows the port authority is "listening to truckers" and says the Liberal government is committed to finding a solution.

The port authority says the decision comes because of the state of the economy and ongoing issues related to the pandemic but plans to explore new technologies and will reassess its emissions-reduction strategy.