Prairie farmers shouldn’t drive into the United States if they’re using marked fuel.
Officials with Montana’s transportation department recently called Alberta Agriculture to report they were finding Alberta vehicles in their state with marked fuel.
“They wanted to remind farmers that is not acceptable in Montana,” said Dale Dowswell, a program policy specialist with Alberta Agriculture.
Dowswell said the Montana official he talked to seemed to think drivers with big transport trucks were aware of the rules, but it was farmers in passenger vehicles who didn’t know it was illegal to use marked fuel in passenger vehicles in the United States.
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“There are reasons why Alberta farmers are down there for purely farming business, but more often I think it’s pick-up trucks for an afternoon of shopping or an evening at the bar,” Dowswell said.
“I’m sure there are a lot of those farm plates visible in Montana. The whole southern Alberta farming community is close and there’s always been that draw of the excited states and at different times different dollar advantages and disadvantages or different drinking laws at times.”
Dowswell said every jurisdiction in North America has marked fuel, but it’s only Canada’s four western provinces that allow the untaxed fuel in a licensed vehicle.
The department received a similar call seven or eight years ago.
“Somewhere, somebody has raised the issue that they’re finding these vehicles with marked fuel. They are probably reluctant to throw people in jail, for good reason. It’s not good neighbourly relations, but at the same time it’s against the law.”
