Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to appear before this honoured committee. I'll speak a little about who we are at Port Saint John, where we see benefits from the trade agreement, and go from there.
As you may know, Port Saint John is one of 18 Canada port authorities. We have our own legislation known as the Canada Marine Act. You are in the city that is the home of the third-largest port by volume in Canada. We're the home of Canada's largest oil refinery, and the largest deepwater oil port. We also host Canada's only marine LNG terminal. There is no mistake about it; we are very much an energy corridor for Canada.
We have a diversified cargo base that includes growing sectors in the areas of cruise; bulk commodities; a marine renewable energy base, such as tidal power and others; and of course, one of Canada's fastest growing container businesses. This growing container business has led the governments of Canada and New Brunswick to invest with the port on a $205-million project to modernize our westside terminals. This project is now under way.
All of this activity has caught the attention of the global shipping world and has led to the introduction of DP World, the fourth-largest terminal operator in the world, to form a partnership with Port Saint John to operate our terminals beginning in January 2017. This partnership includes its private sector investments in the tens of millions of dollars for modernized equipment, including cranes, the first two of which will be arriving in the port in October 2016. All of these factors speak to the importance of Port Saint John as a major trade gateway for Canada.
We believe that removing and reducing tariffs on a wide range of goods can only help build increased trade on a multinational basis. New Brunswick is one of the largest trading regions per capita in Canada today. While the U.S. is our largest trading partner, we do trade with the world, including countries involved in the TPP. By reducing trade barriers on a multinational basis with countries we now trade with, it allows for stronger opportunities for our provincial shippers and receivers.
As I mentioned, we have a growing footprint, involving a large, diverse cargo base. The TPP would help that footprint to have even a larger significance for other shippers and receivers beyond the borders of New Brunswick that trade through our port today, and who will trade through our port in the future. This should lead to stronger bottom lines for all involved in the supply chain.
What does this mean? One should be able to conclude that stronger bottom lines resulting from higher demand should lead to increasing production and financial viability, which would assist with stronger job opportunities. This in turn would help to grow our tax base, providing governments with increased revenues to carry out essential services in health, education, and infrastructure, to name just a few.
Some of the key benefits that we see from TPP in terms of the effect on ports are increases in the transfer of customs procedures between countries. That is a very good step. It would provide an opportunity to accelerate the principles introduced through the Canada-U.S. beyond the borders initiative. Getting the rules right, and agreeing on a system based on mutual interests of security for those goods being transported between countries, be it from a physical security point of view, an environmental security point of view, or a health security perspective, can avoid unnecessary delays getting goods in and out of the marketplace.
These objectives only underscore the value of ports as an essential transition point, and are the backbone to a national and regional economy. Studies have shown that up to 90% of products that North Americans use in their day-to-day lives have been moved by water at one point or another before arriving in the hands of the consumer.
I am very pleased that you're here today and have chosen our port city for your hearings. There is no doubt about Port Saint John's strategic location to Canada's trade. We have an advanced uncongested highway system feeding into more heavily populated marketplaces in North America. We are one of the few ports that provides options to shippers and receivers with respect to rail services, as we connect to several class I railways. We are a gateway to the world, and move billions of dollars of value for our country through this port.
I thank you for the opportunity, and look forward to your questions.