BURST
A new trucking firm in B.C. has links to Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd., a company the province shut down after it was involved in multiple overpass crashes, a Postmedia News examination has found.
It’s unclear whether Legacy Pathways Ltd.’s links to the former company violate B.C. Motor Vehicle Act regulations , but the Transportation Ministry said its commercial vehicle safety enforcement branch “is aware of concerns regarding Legacy Pathways Ltd. and is investigating.”
The province’s rules stipulate that when a trucking firm’s National Safety Code certificate, which allows it to operate, has been cancelled for cause, the company and its directors and officers will be refused a new safety certificate. Companies can apply for reinstatement after three years.
The ministry said Legacy Pathways holds a valid National Safety Code safety certificate and is currently rated as “satisfactory — unaudited.”
“As this is part of an active investigation, the ministry is unable to provide further comment at this time,” said the Transportation Ministry in an email sent by public affairs officer Murray Sinclair.
The Transportation Ministry didn’t respond to questions on whether Legacy Pathways was using trucks that had operated under Chohan Freight Forwarders or had the same staff, or what was Legacy’s physical address.
The ministry told Postmedia that further information about the company would need to be obtained through the province’s Freedom of Information Act.
Email, phone and text messages made in the past two weeks to Legacy Pathways , the Chohan Group of Companies and Suneet (Sunny) Chohan, who heads many Chohan companies, have gone unanswered.
B.C. corporate registry documents show Legacy Pathways Ltd. was created in fall 2024 after a company, D-Man Holding Inc., changed its name and appointed a new director.
The new director was Prabhjot Parmar, whose listed address — a residence in Langley — was the same as the one listed for Sunny Chohan, the former president of Chohan Freight Forwarders, according to B.C. corporate and personal property registry records.
Sunny Chohan was removed as a director and president of Chohan Freight Forwarders in January 2024 after being appointed a director 2½ years earlier. His removal took place after the six overpass crashes and just a month before the safety certificate was cancelled.
His father, Kuljit Chohan, also a director, became president, according to B.C. Supreme Court and corporate registry records. Kuljit is listed as one of the owners of the Langley residence linked to Sunny and Parmar, according to B.C. Land Title records.
The continuing overpass strikes by trucks from various companies with so-called overheight loads — 74 in the past 3½ years — have caused public concern and are a significant issue for the province, which has ratcheted up penalties , increasing fines up to $100,000 and adding potential jail time of up to 18 months.
The overpass strike disrupt traffic and supply chains, damage bridges and overpasses, have caused damage to other vehicles and injuries, and create traffic upheavals when roads are closed or detours are instituted for weeks-long repairs.
In February 2024, Rob Fleming, then the province’s transportation minister, announced that a formal cancellation notice was issued to Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd. for its B.C.-based operations after it was involved in the six overpass strikes.
At the time, Fleming said: “This is the most severe action that can be taken against a company with several infractions — and it sends a clear message to operators that infrastructure crashes around our province need to stop.”
The Transportation Ministry said the cancellation was upheld in an appeal process and went into effect on Oct. 1, 2024.
During a recent Postmedia visit to the Chohan Group of Companies business site in the Township of Langley, a haul truck with a Legacy Pathways logo was seen in a fenced yard of the property next door. The next-door site, which contained an empty administration building, is owned by Chohan Property Group Ltd., whose sole director is Sunny Chohan, according to B.C. corporate registry records.
There was no one working at that site.
A man at the adjacent Chohan Group site, who didn’t identify himself, said Sunny Chohan was no longer associated with the group. The man then said he couldn’t answer any more questions and told the reporter to get off the property.
At the Chohan Group site, there were 11 trucks, one of which looked liked it was being worked on and another that was being moved. Some of the trucks displayed the Chohan Freight Forwarders logo.
The U.S. Department of Transportation, which provides safety and other information online that isn’t available in B.C., lists Legacy Pathways as having 15 trucks and nine drivers that were registered on Nov. 4, 2024.
However, where Legacy Pathways’ physical business site is located is unclear. The company’s website lists its address as Langley but provides no further information.
The latest B.C. corporate registry information lists the company’s registered office at a residential address in Terrace in northern B.C., nearly 1,300 kilometres by road from Langley. This is also the latest address listed for Parmar, the sole director of Legacy Pathways.
Legacy’s records office is listed at the Surrey office of the law firm Farris LLP.
The phone number for Legacy Pathways is a cell number registered in Richmond, according to the online Yellow Pages. A message at the number says the voicemail service hasn’t been set up.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Legacy Pathway’s physical address is at the Surrey office of the law firm.
However, according to information available online for the Township of Langley and Surrey, Legacy Pathways isn’t listed as a licensed business in either of those municipalities. Chohan Freight Forwarders, Chohan Carriers, Chohan Properties and the Chohan company Eternity Transport are listed as having active business licences in the Township of Langley.
The records office for Legacy Pathways at the law firm in Surrey is the same as for other Chohan companies, including Chohan Freight Forwarders, Chohan Carriers Ltd., Chohan Property Group Ltd., Chohan Financial Corp. Ltd., Chohan Holdings Group Ltd., and Chohan Truck & Trailer Ltd., according to corporate registry records.
Sunny Chohan is listed as a director of all the companies except Chohan Freight Forwarders, and is also listed as president or vice-president of some of them.
In January, a Legacy Pathways Facebook site showed the company was trying to hire “experienced Class 1” drivers. The notice said the company was looking for “Million Milers,” drivers with safety awards and years of dedication to the highway.
Legacy Pathway’s website says it delivers loads between provinces and internationally — and that since 2020 it has been a “trusted” partner in providing reliable logistics solutions across various sectors, including oil-and-gas, construction, agriculture, lumber, engineered wood, steel and aluminium.
According to B.C. and U.S. corporate records, Legacy Pathways was created in fall 2024, more than three years after it says it started operations. The company says its fleet includes flatbed trailers ideal for oversized and heavy loads.
“Our commitment to safety, reliability and efficiency means you can trust us to deliver your goods on time, every time,” says the company’s website.
Legacy Pathways hasn’t had an overpass strike, according to the province’s online list.
The latest overpass strike by Chohan Freight Forwarders took place at the end of December 2023, when the 112th Street overpass on Highway 99 was struck and damaged. Permanent repairs began in April 2024 causing traffic diversions and lane closures on Highway 99.