In this episode, we are asking one of AMTA’s SMEs (Subject Matter Expert) the most highly requested commercial transportation question from our Membership and podcast audience.

Host Kelsey Hipkin is joined by our very own Dave Elniski, Industry Advisor, Safety and Compliance, and author of AMTA’s Pro-Tech & Pro-Active: Understanding and Leveraging the World of Safety Technology to Move Beyond Compliance-Focused Safety Management, to dive deeper into what our industry wants to know. Dave answers your questions on road transportation, health and safety, operations, logistics, terminology, new technology, and more.

In this episode, we are revisiting the incredible conversation held during our September virtual Regional Meeting, “More Than a Driver: Putting Professionalism Back Into The Industry”.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin brings back Kalina LeGoff (Manager, Safety and Compliance, Western Canada, Tri-Line Carriers), and Doug Walton (Senior Advisor, Member Solutions, AMTA), from the Regional for this episode, with the addition of Cliff Litke (Senior Advisor, Member Services, AMTA), to dive deeper into driver supports and workplace culture, the importance of training and mentorship, longevity of the job, and more.

In this episode, we talk winter driving! Although it may still be summer, the bitter cold, icy conditions, and snow are headed our way once again, and we will need to adjust our driving habits accordingly.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with a familiar voice you may recognize from the beginning of each episode, AMTA’s Rob Destree, Senior Instructor, Driver Development, to dive deeper into the approaching winter driving season.

In this episode, we explore retention in commercial transportation in Alberta, with a focus on drivers, but also on all aspects of what makes a carrier, supplier, and more, tick in this industry.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with Leah Mawer, Vice President of Human Resources, Caron Transportation Systems, in our first segment, and then is joined by Alero Okujagu, Senior Program Manager, and Tanara Ferguson, Senior Project Manager, at Trucking HR Canada (THRC) for our second segment.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with Geoff Wiebe, National Account Managerat Kal Tire, AMTA's Doug Walton is live on location at Answer Trailer Rentals and Sales with Shawn Rushton, Fleet and Repair Manager, and we wrap our three segments with Evan Schielke, Regional Sales Manager at STEMCO.

In our conversation, we're talking wheels, or wheel-offs to be precise, in one of our biggest episodes yet!

We discuss tire safety, common factors for tire blow-outs on the highway, industry policies and procedures done to prevent wheel-offs and over-torquing, safety around wheels and installation, as well as new technologies enhancing safety for wheels on the road.

AMTA’s Kelsey Hipkin is taking us to the future for the third and final episode of our special three-part series - Trucking: Past, Present, and Future.

In our last episode, we looked at what is going on in Alberta in the present and what impacts are being made to commercial transportation.

In today’s episode, we are looking forward, literally, to the future of commercial transportation. Kelsey sits down with Jared Sayers, President and CEO of Azolla Hydrogen Ltd., and Terri Johnson, Manager, Industry Advancement with AMTA, to discuss alternative fuels, autonomous vehicles, vehicle improvements, safety improvements, and more, and how this impacts the future of commercial transportation in our province and beyond.

AMTA’s Kelsey Hipkin welcomes us back for the second episode of our special three-part series - Trucking: Past, Present, and Future.

In our last episode, we took you back to when trucking emerged in Alberta, and you heard from some of the voices of the province’s commercial transportation past. 
In this episode, we look at what is going on in Alberta today that impacts commercial transportation. You'll hear from Alexandra Bennet, Director, Strategic Initiatives, Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC), with an update on the Class 1 Learning Pathway program, and we'll check in with AMTA’s Dave Elniski, Industry Advisor, Safety & Compliance, who has recently published a book on safety technology and compliance-focused safety management.

AMTA’s Kelsey Hipkin kicks off the first episode of our special three-part series - Trucking: Past, Present, and Future.

To know Alberta’s trucking past is to know the individuals who built the foundation of what commercial transportation represents today.

In this episode, we take a trip down commercial transportation memory lane in Alberta – and we’re doing that with some actual voices of Alberta’s Commercial Transportation past, including those who continue to support and advance industry after years in the field. 

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with Andrew Barnes, Sr. Advisor, Compliance and Regulatory Affairs, AMTA.

In our conversation, we discuss the biggest commercial transportation issues we’re seeing when it comes to interprovincial trade barriers, takeaways from this year’s Canadian Council of Motor Transportation Administrators conference, collaboration with other provinces, and what it will take to move forward on infrastructure disparities, and more!

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with returning Steering Change guest, Deborah Nilsen, Industry Specialist, Workers’ Compensation Board - Alberta (WCB).

In our conversation, we review the questions posed by you, our listeners, including examples of modified duties and what an employer can provide for their workers, strategies for a company to cut down on their WCB premiums, what employers can do if they disagree with the outcome of a claim, and more.

 As well, in this episode, we have a special segment with Heather Fry, Director of Industry Training, TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking). We discuss TAT’s Harriet Tubman Award and stories of past recipients and nominees, as well as the free training offered by TAT. *Trigger warning of sexual assault and bodily harm

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with Sgt. Scott Kallweit of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services within the Alberta Sheriffs, Sgt. Kerry Bates of the Edmonton Police Service, and AMTA’s Josh Hannaberry.

AMTA’s latest campaign, Spring into Safety, looks at the transition from winter to spring and how that can affect how we drive, prepare to drive, and how we interact with other road users. In this episode, we explore this further, discussing the impacts of wildlife strikes, sharing the road with motorcycles, and spring cleanup.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with Abraham Masri, Trimac; Dave Schmidt, Lafarge Canada Inc.; Jacob Adams, Arrow Transportation Systems; and Terri Johnson, AMTA.

In this episode, we continue the conversation from our Carrier Successes in New Technology session at AMTA’s 87th Annual Conference last month. We discuss how these companies are the trailblazers redefining carrier success in cutting-edge technology, how emerging technologies can shape your business, and what the future holds for our industry.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with our Member Solutions Team: Doug Walton, Sr. Advisor, Kristin Picken, Advisor (South), and Chad Albert, Advisor (North).

In this episode, we discuss the improvements that we have made to our membership benefits to reflect the growing value that AMTA delivers for Carriers and Suppliers in Alberta. These improvements, announced April 1, include changes to the full Carrier Member pricing and a tiered Supplier Membership opportunity. Our Member Solutions team deep dives into the changes to Carrier fees, the response from our members and Carriers so far and the importance of engagement and dialogue, the new opportunities for Suppliers with AMTA Elite, and how these benefits could impact incoming AMTA members.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with Josh Hannaberry, AMTA’s Senior Advisor, Strategic Partnerships, and Christine Sadlowski, CTSP Advisor for Fleet Safety with Strike Group.

In this episode, we dive into Christina and Josh’s journey towards getting their Certified Transportation Safety Professional (CTSP) designations, their motivations to pursue the designation, their experience with the process, and how the program encourages collaboration among peers working toward certification.

We also discuss how the CTSP and CTSC designations highlight the diversity in commercial vehicle operations - beyond the typical tractor-trailer setups - and the unique safety needs that come with it. Plus, from an insurance and compliance angle, we dive into how the designation supports safety through both the National Safety Code (NSC) and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) frameworks.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin, Manager of Communications, and Erica Cormack, Manager of Education, chat with Catherine Williams, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Traffic Safety Services with Alberta’s Transportation & Economic Corridors (TEC).

In our conversation, we discuss an overview of the Class 1 Learning Pathway, which the Alberta Government officially launched as of April 1, 2025. Catherine gives us more details on why this change is being implemented, what this new pathway process will look like for prospective drivers, how this affects the goal of commercial driving being recognized as a trade, what the transition period between the current MELT program and Learning Pathways will be, and more!

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin and Doug Walton chat with Constable James Kendrick of the Edmonton Police Service.

In our conversation, we discuss something that has become an epidemic, and is affecting the safety of Alberta’s highways and beyond … distracted driving. Constable Kendrick provides examples of distracted driving that he and other officers with EPS have seen on the local roadways, some misconceptions that people have with using smartphones or ELDs and operating vehicles, and the penalties that drivers face when caught driving distracted.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin and long-time planner of the PTDC, Michelle Spacil, chat with Members of our Professional Truck Driving Championship (PTDC) Committee: Matt Geib, PTDC Marshall, Don Atemechiuk, PTDC Co-Marshall, and Don MacDonald, PTDC Track Master.

In our conversation, we highlight AMTA's Professional Truck Driving Championship (PTDC) which returns May 31, 2025, celebrating 75 years of Driver Excellence! We discuss how this event works, the specifics of the course and what it takes to navigate it, our collaboration with the Alberta Sheriffs, the importance of having an event that celebrates commercial drivers, and more.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin, Dave Elniski, and Andy Barnes chat with Steve Keppler, Co-Director of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting.
In our conversation, we discuss voluntary safety programs like beyond compliance and how facilitating best practices, safety management systems, training and coaching services, and new technologies can help carriers of all sizes to reduce collisions, empower drivers, and improve safety within your company.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin and Rob Destree chat with Warren Stasiuk, Safety Manager at Volker Stevin Highways Ltd.
In our conversation, we discuss snowplow logistics in Alberta, roadside safety for snowplow drivers and the motoring public, tips and tricks for approaching snowplows on the road, and ways to stay safe on the highways in winter storm conditions.

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin and Michelle Spacil chat with Arlene Ledi-Thom, President and Board of Directors and Chair of the Society, with the Health and Safety Conference Society of Alberta (HSCSA).
In our conversation, we discuss the Health and Safety Conference and how AMTA came to be involved, the importance of all the health and safety-related industries coming together to collaborate, and what we can expect from this year’s conference.