Evidence of meeting #42 for Finance in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was federal.
11:30 a.m.
Senior Vice President, Economic Development Winnipeg Inc.
Right now, the numbers that come in from The Conference Board of Canada, which all our counterparts look at—
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Liberal
11:30 a.m.
Senior Vice President, Economic Development Winnipeg Inc.
They do a metropolitan outlook.
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Senior Vice President, Economic Development Winnipeg Inc.
A metropolitan outlook basically takes a look at each of the major cities across Canada in terms of their GDP growth. I haven't seen the latest numbers, but I think it's probably tracking at about 1.8%—
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Senior Vice President, Economic Development Winnipeg Inc.
—which is less than the provincial average.
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Liberal
Raj Grewal Liberal Brampton East, ON
That's interesting. Thank you.
You spoke about the importance of data. As you know, the first decision of the new government was to reinstate the long-form census. Could you comment on how that's going to help alleviate some of the data concerns that you have?
11:30 a.m.
Senior Vice President, Economic Development Winnipeg Inc.
Fundamentally, right now, when we take a look at information with respect to the economy, we don't have granular level data at a metropolitan level. Unfortunately, that puts us at a disadvantage, particularly with our competitors in the United States who have very granular information at a metropolitan level.
I suspect that the long-form census will be able to generate more information. I think that, fundamentally, a systemic change needs to take place to understand what type of information is critical for communities to have in order to better position ourselves to be more competitive. Really, that comes from having conversations with organizations such as ourselves and our counterparts across the Consider Canada City Alliance. Because we're working with these companies day in and day out, we see where there are gaps in information.
For Statistics Canada, the long-form census is a great start, but I think a much broader perspective is needed in terms of Statistics Canada looking at portfolios for Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Global Affairs.
We work very closely with Global Affairs directly through the Consider Canada City Alliance. We do two missions a year with the federal government in key international marketplaces to attract foreign direct investment, but we're limited by some of that granular information we really require.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Raj Grewal Liberal Brampton East, ON
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much for your remarks on the challenges that the town of Churchill faces. I know Minister Bains was here just last week. He announced $4.6 million. Our government understands that's a very short-term solution focused on creating jobs to try to help alleviate some of the pain.
Something that you mentioned that really stuck out for me was the nationalization of the port. Is there a dollar figure on how that will help in terms of economic activity if the government does make that decision?
11:30 a.m.
Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies Region, Public Service Alliance of Canada
We don't have a dollar figure. The difference with going to a port authority versus having a corporation run it is, of course, there is a profit margin with a corporation. Basically, if it were to be turned into a port authority, it would be governed by a board of directors with federal appointees, provincial appointees, municipal appointees, and hopefully first nations' appointees so that decisions that are made on how the port operates are good for the community. Because the one thing you have to recognize is that the rail line that goes up to the port is the only point of communication. You can't send a snowmobile by airplane. You can't afford to do that, so, in effect, one corporation is holding all the northern communities hostage, and they have no intention of investing and diversifying, or building more storage facilities.
11:35 a.m.
Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies Region, Public Service Alliance of Canada
I want to say it was about 14%, I believe, according to the last numbers from Service Canada, and this is recognizing that the community has about 800; and anywhere from 60 to 80, to over 120 are employees of the port.
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Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies Region, Public Service Alliance of Canada
It's about 800 people in total.
October 6th, 2016 / 11:35 a.m.
Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies Region, Public Service Alliance of Canada
It is 800 people.
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Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies Region, Public Service Alliance of Canada
At the time when there was a military base and when the Wheat Board was shipping through the Port of Churchill, the community, I want to say, was about 12,000 to 18,000, so it has dropped down.
The port is their main employer.
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Liberal
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Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies Region, Public Service Alliance of Canada
In the heydays, when the Wheat Board was operating and shipping, it was upward of 125 of our members. Lately—
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Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies Region, Public Service Alliance of Canada
No. There's tourism. Basically, it's a tourism community, or the port.
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Liberal
Raj Grewal Liberal Brampton East, ON
Okay. Thank you very much.
I'll go to canola. I'd like to hear your comments. The Prime Minister was in China. He got a deal struck on canola. What percentage of exports go to China?
11:35 a.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada
Approximately 40% of our canola seed exports go to China, which is worth about $2 billion per year, so it's a huge market right now, and there's significant opportunity to grow. We know that in China the middle class is demanding healthier oils, and of course, the protein that canola has as well is important to feeding livestock like fish in China. There's a huge opportunity to grow, and getting that stable access really allows our industry to continue investing and capitalizing on that opportunity.