DIEPPE, NB — Quit gouging us for your own budget problems, is what the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA) is telling the government of New Brunswick.

The province's truckers have once again been tagged with an increase in renewal fees, from $25 to $50 for truck plate renewals, and from $17 to $27 on trailer plates.

“This is the third increase that the trucking industry gets in less than two years; first diesel tax, then the IFTA registrations and now the registration renewal fee increase. We are one of the largest employers in NB contributing over $1 billion to the GDP each year. What will it take for them to realize that they are weakening us more every time they do this”, said Jean-Marc Picard, executive director of the APTA. “Cut some fat off their own government”.

The new annual revenue for heavy commercial vehicles is estimated at $10.5 million, APTA noted in a statement released this morning. For trailers, it’s estimated at $3.2 million.

The culmination of all these fees are hitting the province's truckers "extremely hard," Picard said. "The Government doesn’t realize that if we keep getting increases from our provincial government, it will catch up to us and our businesses will be forced to shut down.

“The government increased these fees to recover the costs of administrating the Motor Vehicle System; they need to find other ways to generate revenues and give the trucking industry a break.

"We are not the only answer to their deficits."