03/08/2022
Thank you Honorable Minister Rajan Sawhney
๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ'๐จ ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐! ๐๐ค ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ค๐ช๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐ช๐๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ข๐๐ฏ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃโ๐จ ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ! ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ!
Sona Kaur Minhas is a trailblazer.
According to Trucking HR Canada, fewer than five per cent of the trucking industryโs female employees are in a management or supervisory position. This small fraction in senior leadership contributes to the industryโs problems of recruiting and retaining women.
Sona is the managing director of Compass Transport. She co-owns the company with her brother, Amandeep Minhas. Sona says, โItโs amazing. Heโs my role model.โ
Sona and her family left Punjab, India for an opportunity in Houston, BC in 2000. A few years later, there was a move to Calgary. Along with raising her two daughters, she attended university to study payroll and accounting.
While working for AHS five years ago, Sonaโs brother had an idea. The siblings would become co-owners of Compass Transport. โHe needed help, a partner,โ says Sona. Working in a male dominated field doesnโt intimidate Sona. โIโm not afraid of taking risks. Take a chance. Go for it. You can do it. If you donโt try, you donโt get.โ
The recent Coutts border blockade was tough on Sonaโs company. Three drivers were stranded at the border. It took them an extra four days to get home. Sona is grateful for the help Minister Sawhney offered, by reaching out, offering support and listening to Sona, while helping direct drivers to other border crossings.
At the moment Compass Trucking does not have any female drivers, but Sona is hopeful that will change soon. โI would love to have more women driving in this profession.โ Would Sona like to get her Class 1 licence? โMaybe one day.โ
Sona has three pieces of advice for all women:
1. ๐๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง. ๐๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.
2. ๐๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ.
3. ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ๐บ. ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง.
