International Trade committee  I would say that we don't know how many jobs will be officially developed off this, but just in P.E.I. alone, they had over $30 million last year in grains and oilseeds, which is a big deal for Prince Edward Island, being a small player in the grains and oilseeds business. Jobs a

International Trade committee  Yes, I think we do need more volume through the elevators here in Halifax. Maybe stuff from western Canada will come this way. They seem to be having some rail issues shipping to the west, and maybe this will provide an opportunity to make people come this way and increase the th

International Trade committee  Oh, yes, for sure. If this trade agreement creates those opportunities, certainly Quebec and Ontario are not that far to rail down here, and yes, infrastructure is key. We need more rail cars, better lines, better service. The more throughput through that plant.... I mean, if yo

International Trade committee  Thanks. I'm Neil Campbell, general manager of the P.E.I. Grain Elevator Corporation. Thanks for your time. The elevator is a farmer-controlled board of directors. I'm here today representing the Atlantic Grains Council, which we are a member of. At the elevator I'm directly re

Agriculture committee  Some of the positives, obviously, would be that with the soybean acreage expanding greatly down here in the Maritimes, we've had a lot of interest from the larger private firms, which we have never really seen before. We are getting our soybeans over to the Port of Halifax on the

Agriculture committee  I would say that in the past a lot of our grains and oilseeds were used in the livestock industry. That has changed dramatically in the last four or five years. There are now more opportunities for the larger companies to come in here, purchase product, and ship around the world,

Agriculture committee  Depending on the market out there, if we were going to Newfoundland, obviously a port would be available for loading ships to go right across. It's a long way to go all the way up to Sydney by truck, followed by a 15-hour boat ride across. It substantially increases the cost to t

Agriculture committee  There have been studies done. More study is needed to see about the viability of a port here in P.E.I. and the worldwide access that would give us instead of trucking a farther distance away. There's nothing concrete at this time.

Agriculture committee  One of the challenges we see in our part of the country is the weather this year, with the climate change. This year we've experienced excellent weather for growing crops but less than desirable weather for harvesting. It's very problematic for our corn and soybeans. There are my