A chameleon carrier is permanently shut down in Ontario after multiple ownership transfers ended in a failure to appear for the appeal tribunal.
The appeal was dismissed last month by Ontario, Canada’s appeal tribunal.
According to Cambridge Today, a trucking company called Trans King was cited 11 times in 30 months of operation for violations including missing ELDs, missing speed limiters, and failure to provide proper documentation. Seven out of nine of the Trans King trucks inspected were deemed unsafe and placed OOS. Safety defects included cracked wheels, poorly secured loads, and a loose air tank.
Trans King was given a safety record review of 40.5%, which puts it in the bottom 1,000 carriers for safety ratings in Ontario. The company was then suspended in March 2024, but continued to operate. In late 2024, a Trans King truck was pulled over for inspection. Not only was the company still operating despite the suspension, but previously reported exhaust repairs had not been completed on the rig. The inspector also determined that the truck may not be insured.
Trans King then reportedly began operating under the name Moose Trucking, with a driver named Jaspreet Kaur driving for both companies and working as president for both. The registrar’s office found multiple instances where the companies had matching owners, addresses, and dates of registration. The registrar alleged that the Trans King CMVs taken off the road for safety violations were once again operating on Canadian roadways under the trucking company name Moose Trucking. Some of the truck drivers cited while working for Trans King were also working under the new company name.
A man named Gurpreet Singh Bela who was running Moose Trucking claimed no association with Trans King, but did say that the trucks were previously owned by the company. They claimed to be “dedicated to operating safely and in accordance with MTO, CVOR regulations.”
As a result of these suspicions, Moose Trucking had its licenses suspended, but was scheduled to appeal the decision in August, where they would be given the opportunity to prove there was no affiliation. No one showed up to the August hearing, but another man who called himself “Shamshad” emailed the tribunal on the day of the scheduled hearing, claiming to have purchased Moose Trucking from the “previous owner, Gurpreet,” but the paperwork was still being processed. He requested an extension and permission to appear at the next hearing via Zoom, because he was not prepared.
The virtual meeting was rescheduled for September, but no one showed up. Adjudicator Avril A. Farlam found “ample basis to confirm the registrar’s order” to cancel the company’s permits and maintain its suspension.
