Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to thank the witnesses for being with us today.
As a member of Parliament from Niagara, it's wonderful to see so many witnesses whom we have invited today who have either come from Niagara or their businesses and relationships that deal with trade and supply chains in the Niagara area.
Earlier in the comments by Mayor Steele, he talked about the notion of collaboration, the private sector working together with government and its agencies to facilitate economic growth.
Just yesterday, there was a release that was issued. It came from the Chamber of Marine Commerce. The title of the news release says, “Chamber of Marine Commerce Supports Call for Government to Get Out of the Way of Supply Chains”. In its release it says:
Customs clearance processes are a key part of moving what matters to businesses and consumers throughout Canada, and the Federal Government is responsible for ensuring those processes are carried out efficiently and effectively. There is an ever-increasing number of examples where the Federal Government is not living up to that responsibility to the detriment of our economy and the strength of our supply chains...
Mr. Hamilton, you talked about some of the examples with regards to HOPA in Hamilton and your issues with CBSA. In fact, you talked about a two-year wait to get approval for CBSA staffing for a very important project.
Can you elaborate on that?