Steering Change

For AMTA’s 50th milestone episode, we are discussing Women in Trucking. Host Kelsey Hipkin brings back Shelley Walker , Founder and CEO of the Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada (WTFC), and the Founder and President of Know Human Trafficking , to the podcast to discuss Shelley’s history as a Class 1 driver, the experiences of women in trucking, mentorship, the significant obstacles and issues f...

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...

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...

In this episode, we talk winter driving! Although it may still be early fall, 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 app...

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...

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with Geoff Wiebe, National Account Manager at 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!  W...

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 s...

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. Yo...

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 Albert...

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...

**Trigger warning: this episode contains a special segment that discusses human trafficking, sexual assault, and bodily harm. AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with returning Steering Change guest, Deborah Nilsen , Industry Specialist, Workers’ Compensation Board - Alberta (WCB). We have noticed that at each event, specifically our Safety Summits, where Deb and/or her colleagues present, there are many q...

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 epi...

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with Abraham Masri , Manager of Energy Transition and Sustainability at Trimac; Dave Schmidt , Western Canada RMX, Fleet and Training Manager at Lafarge Canada Inc.; Jacob Adams , Director of Sustainability and Risk and Manager of Optimization at Arrow Transportation Systems; and Terri Johnson , Manager of Industry Advancement at AMTA. In this episode, we continue the co...

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 Carr...

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin chats with Josh Hannaberry, AMTA’s Senior Advisor, Strategic Partnerships, and Christina 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, a...

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 gi...

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin, Manager of Communications, and Doug Walton, Senior Advisor, Member Solutions, 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 of...

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 Achtemichuk , 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 Dr...

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, a...

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. If you would like to learn more about Volker...

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...

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin and Rob Destree chat with two of our past Safety Person of the Year Award recipients, Christine Groulx, Health and Safety Manager of 4Seasons Transportation (2022), and Dale Howard, Regional Safety Manager for Canada with Flying J Canada Transport (2024), for one of our favourite topics as an association: safety. In our conversation, we discuss the significance of safety in da...

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin and Dave Elniski chat with Brenda Suggett, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP), for our first episode of 2025, or Season 2 of Steering Change , if you will. In our conversation, we focus on all aspects of road safety and ways Carriers and Drivers can apply research to their operations to improve their safety on the highways. If y...

AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin and Michelle Spacil (Steering Change’s very first guest), chat with Tim Bennett, AMTA Board Chair, for our special Steering Change One-Year Anniversary episode. In our conversation, we look back on the year that we have had, both at Steering Change , and at AMTA. Having an AMTA Podcast has been a dream for many years. We wanted a different way of promoting AMTA initiatives and...

**Trigger warning: this episode contains discussions around mental health and brief mentions of PTSD, past trauma, and suicide. AMTA's Kelsey Hipkin and Doug Walton chat with Kris Marks, founder and CEO of VĪV Mental Health, for the fourth and final episode of our special edition four-part series: Road to Wellness. These episodes are dedicated to the health and well-being of the commercial drivers...