Good morning. Thank you for having us appear today.
Madam Chair, committee members, on behalf of the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, or CIFFA, we'd like to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.
Very briefly, for those who may not know, freight forwarders take control of shipments, be they imports or exports, and move them to the ultimate customer by whatever transport mode is most cost-efficient. We represent roughly 12,000 employees of member firms, and they handle approximately 80% of freight traffic in Canada. Also, as our association represents port truckers—called drayage operators—customs brokers and other services sectors, we can legitimately claim to represent all the key players in Canada's supply chain.
The labour disruptions at west coast ports this last summer were a fairly serious blow to our members and to our customers. We feel it was also a sign that we need to start moving beyond the traditional and wasteful pattern of labour confrontation that has characterized the Canadian port industry.
The year 2023 was certainly the year of labour disputes in ports. We saw strikes on Canada's west coast and on the U.S. west coast as well. In the southeast of the U.S., although negotiations are currently under way, the union stated that members should prepare to go on strike next October. Now, we are looking at a possible strike at the port of Montreal.