Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the invitation for a chance to talk a bit about the supply chain and logistics services sector.
Our association has about 1,000 members across Canada. They're not corporate members; they're individual members who pay their own dues and come to SCL to continue to enhance their own career, learn more about the industry, and get education, and the like, so that they network with their peers.
In Canada, about 1.8 million people are employed in our logistics industry, so it's a very significant industry in this country. As you heard earlier, there are over 400,000 employed as truck drivers alone. There are over 400,000 who work for users. That's people who are in manufacturing, retail, and wholesale who are the logistics side of those. They could be the warehouse operators, jobs like that, but they're in the logistic supply chain side of those companies. But there are also 235,000 who are employed as service providers to the industry, and many of my members, of course, are service providers.
Canada, as a trading nation, requires a global and a national supply chain and logistics network that is efficient and cost effective if we're going to continue to compete in the global market.
I'm going to be very brief this morning, because my colleagues from air transport and trucking have given you a lot of the technical information. I just want to make you aware of a few of the challenges we face in the supply chain and logistics sector in Canada.
The challenges tend to be, first, awareness of logistics as a profession, education, border infrastructure, national infrastructure, reduction of interprovincial trade barriers, the lack of promotion of foreign trade zones in Canada, and more investment that's needed in the Canada Border Services Agency.
From an awareness perspective in general, awareness of the supply chain as a profession and as a large-scale employer is lacking in our country. Service providers have difficulty recruiting enough potential employees into the sector, and this needs to be addressed by both government and relevant departments. Raising awareness at the secondary school level will help to get more students interested in supply chain careers, allowing them to take advantage of the post-secondary education programs and classes that institutions are struggling to fill.
I can tell you that we accredit a lot of colleges across Canada. We do accreditation programs to help them with their supply chain and logistics programs, and what's appalling is that they can't fill them. Just last week, Humber College cancelled their supply chain program because of a lack of students. It's kind of scary.
At present, supply chain could actually be called the default career, not ranking in amongst students' usual choices when graduating from high school. From an educational point of view, attracting our young people to enter a career in logistics is a long-term challenge. New Canadians who are fluent in multiple languages and have foreign degrees or certification need assistance in getting integrated into our industry. Shortages in trucking and international freight could be alleviated by attracting qualified and trained individuals from other countries through government assistance equivalency evaluations. A comprehensive approach to promote the supply chain as a career must be formulated and properly funded in order to maintain a well-staffed and efficient industry.
On the infrastructure side, both personal and commercial travellers are severely dependent upon border infrastructure, particularly on land but also as regards sea and ocean freight. It's vital that the federal government continue working towards support in these areas as there are simply not enough land lanes, for example, to facilitate the process of crossing the border, as you heard from the trucking association.
From a small and medium-sized business enterprise perspective, they need a lot of help. How do they grow their import-export business when they have these complex new security regulations? The cost of compliance has actually become prohibitive for a lot of Canadian companies. There should be an emphasis on the reduction of interprovincial trade barriers and on harmonizing regulations regarding safety standards, driver hours, and the like across our country.
There should be more investment in the Canada Border Services Agency so that we can have a streamlined customs entry and regulation program. The CBSA is understaffed.
In closing, Canada should be promoted as a trade gateway or a North American logistics hub, with thriving foreign trade zones to drive our goods deeper into the heartland. What we really need is a national supply chain and logistics strategy to support logistics skills and development. Ideally, Canada should be the gateway for goods moving into and out of North America.
Our manufacturers, plain and simple, don't have the skilled workforce nor the necessary technology to do it on their own. That's why they outsource to third-party logistics service providers. It is imperative we ensure that our supply chain and logistics services sector is the very best it can be.
Thank you.