Public Safety Committee on April 21st, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

I call this meeting to order. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for taking the time to be here today. This is meeting number 33 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), which you are familiar with, we're meeting today to study the role of the Canada Border Services Agency in the so-called H₂O highway corridor and port clearance practices.

For the first hour, we have the opportunity to welcome three officials from Transport Canada, namely, Sonya Read, director general, marine policy, Mathieu Grenier, director, marine analysis, and Heather Moriarty, director, ports and seaway policy.

Welcome. You have five minutes for your opening statement.

[Sonya Read, Director General, Marine Policy, Department of Transport]

Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security today.

My name is Sonya Read. I am the director general of marine policy at Transport Canada. I'm joined, as the chair noted, by my colleagues, Heather Moriarty and Mathieu Grenier.

I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this important thematic study on the role of the Canada Border Services Agency, as well as departments such as Transport Canada, which support it in port clearance practices, and more broadly, support maritime trade, along the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence corridor.

I understand that my colleagues from the Canada Border Services Agency appeared before this committee on March 26, to speak to the agency's role in supporting trade and the Canadian economy, and to provide an overview of their services vis-à-vis marine cargo examinations and inspections. As my agency colleagues noted, decision-making on port infrastructure and supply chains implicates multiple departments. That is why Transport Canada, Global Affairs Canada, the new Major Projects Office and many other departments and agencies are working together on Canada's trade diversification and supply chain fluidity objectives.

As we delve into Transport Canada's role, I would first like to speak to the department's mandate in the marine domain, and then, specifically to how we work with the agency.

Transport Canada's overall mandate is to ensure that Canadians have a transportation system that is safe, secure, efficient, environmentally responsible and technologically advanced—one that supports economic growth and improves accessibility across all modes of transport.

In the marine context, this covers a wide range of responsibilities, including regulating navigation and marine security, overseeing port authorities, enforcing vessel safety standards and protecting the marine environment from pollution.

More specifically, as director general of marine policy, I'm responsible for policy leadership related to the Canada Marine Act, the oversight framework for Canada Port Authorities and the St. Lawrence Seaway, transportation economic policy frameworks for domestic and international shipping in Canada, and broader, system-level issues that influence how marine transportation supports Canada's economic and trade objectives. I'm also responsible for advancing Canada's marine transportation economic policy objectives at key international fora within the global marine sector, as well as for developing, negotiating and implementing international marine conventions and domestic legislation and regulations.

Canada's marine transportation system is comprised of a variety of marine assets, public and private ports, as well as the 17 Canada port authorities that represent Canada's 17 largest and most strategic ports. These ports and the seaway are vital to the government's trade objectives. As such, there is a renewed focus on ensuring this critical trade infrastructure is appropriately managed and capitalized to deliver.

I would like to highlight two ways in which Transport Canada is supporting these objectives.

First, Transport Canada has recently launched the $5-billion trade diversification corridors fund, which will deliver funding to build and improve the trade infrastructure that connects Canada, with the objective of unlocking access to new global markets and helping double non-U.S. exports. Transport Canada will deliver this program in partnership with other government departments and agencies, including the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Although I'm not responsible for leading this program, my team and I, along with others, provide advice on how proposed projects align with Canada's supply chain and trade diversification needs.

This brings me to the second area of work I would like to highlight: collaboration with the Canada Border Services Agency.

As you know, budget 2025 announced that the agency would work with Transport Canada and Global Affairs Canada to identify additional ports for container import and export designation, particularly in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence region, like Quebec City and Hamilton.

As Transport Canada makes investments in transportation projects and the governance and marine transportation corridors, we must work strategically with our colleagues at the agency. This necessitates taking a corridor-level approach when assessing and allocating resources that consider the full supply chain beyond one port.

While the agency is ultimately responsible for decisions related to the allocation of their resources, including new services, Transport Canada provides economic analysis and policy advice on how a proposed project or investment could contribute to Canada's economic priorities, including supply chain fluidity, where there are capacity constraints, resiliency and trade diversification.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee. We welcome your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you very much, Ms. Read. We know you have more to say and you can certainly do so during the question and answer period ahead.

To start, I'll turn the floor over to Ms. Kirkland for six minutes.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I appreciate your introduction, Ms. Read.

You mentioned strategic ports. I happen to be a member of Parliament for Oshawa. I think that Oshawa can be a strategic port, albeit it's often overlooked. I'll touch on that a bit, as well as the CBSA collaboration in those additional ports to be identified. I do appreciate that Transport Canada and you also would provide economic analysis or policy advice. I think I have that right from what you said.

[Sonya Read]

That's correct.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Understanding that Transport Canada is responsible for the overall performance of our transportation system, as you mentioned, the committee recently heard from Ian Hamilton, who is president and CEO of the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority, HOPA. He said clearly that CBSA is the biggest roadblock to growth at the port of Oshawa.

Do you see that as a barrier, and do you know why it persists within our system?

[Sonya Read]

We have a very collaborative working relationship with the Canada Border Services Agency. We work with them, as I noted, to provide economic and policy advice to support resource allocation decisions across the full spectrum of ports in Canada. We work closely with HOPA in respect to their infrastructure needs. We recognize the importance that CBSA services play in respect of the different ports, and we work very collaboratively with them in respect of their decisions on resource allocation.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Are you aware that there is no CBSA presence at the Oshawa port?

[Sonya Read]

It's the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority, so it's actually one single port, although it has multiple locations because of the amalgamation of Oshawa, which of course you would know. They provided recently a preliminary approval for a sufferance warehouse in Hamilton related to a project there.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

As the Oshawa member of Parliament, I often hear a lot about Hamilton in terms of the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority. I feel it's important that Oshawa doesn't get forgotten in that, so that's why my questions are very specific.

Right now, if a port can't move containers, which we can't, really, because CBSA clearance isn't available, it feels more like a system failure than an operational issue. Is there anything that Transport Canada can do to coordinate with CBSA to resolve it?

[Sonya Read]

I think there are a couple of different layers to that question. The first thing would, of course, be a capacity and a project or a facility that would be moving containers, and an understanding of what is going to be moved through a port. That's normally where we start with that.

I know there are lots of different decisions that go into it. CBSA was here earlier. They can talk about the designation process for supports of arrival. Those are often business decisions, and we would, obviously, work with the port authority and project proponents if they were looking for those types of opportunities.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Okay. Just to clarify, it would be project-driven. A project would have to be placed in front of you for consideration and in front of the planners for consideration in order for that to move forward.

[Sonya Read]

In the normal course, we would look at that in terms of whether there is a project or an initiative under way that would require CBSA services in order to advance, and the conversation would orient around that. The two have to go in tandem.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

We've heard that trained officers on the ground are essential for anything to happen in Oshawa. From a system planning perspective, is there a performance...or a concern? Is a project the only way to get CBSA presence at the Oshawa port?

[Sonya Read]

I would have to defer to colleagues at CBSA in that regard.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Okay. I have one minute.

I know you're totally...so maybe this will go to others. I know we're not talking about airports, but I just thought I would ask this question to you, because you may have the answer.

Interestingly, I was talking to firefighters from Oshawa this morning, along with the International Association of Firefighters. They're concerned that Canada is not aligned with international civil aviation organizations. I'm not sure if you're aware of that in terms of our firefighting capabilities at airports.

For instance, when then president Joe Biden came to Canada, we had to make sure the Ottawa airport had the proper fire safety that matched with what they had in the U.S. Are you aware of any of that?

[Sonya Read]

I'm sorry, but I'm not. I don't have that information.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

It's not on any of your wavelengths there. Well, I asked the question. We'll have to ask it to the right person next time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you.

Ms. Acan, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for coming to our committee today.

Since 2018, the government has been focused on modernizing Canada's ports, from assessing ways to improve transportation systems to supporting Canada's competitiveness on the global stage. Recently, the Prime Minister announced the Contrecoeur container terminal project, which has started work.

Although the committee's principal mandate concerns security infrastructure at Canada's strategic marine ports, it's also important to recognize that the improvements to customs container processing are closely linked to the effectiveness and resilience of our supply chains.

My first question will be this. The national supply chain task force has emphasized that the port congestion must be addressed before any reforms can yield their full benefits. This government is part of the process to streamline federal approvals and to cut red tape. What steps has Transport Canada taken to alleviate congestion in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway?

[Sonya Read]

The Government of Canada has been working closely with ports regarding their infrastructure needs across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway system. In terms of projects put forward, there are a number that have been funded throughout the Great Lakes system, particularly at Port Hope but also at the ports of Montreal, Trois-Rivières and Quebec, to name a few.

I think Contrecoeur would obviously be the most recent and probably one of the largest, more significant projects that have been put forward in that regard. That project will be increasing the port's capacity by 60%, which is the largest eastern port expansion in Canadian history. It will add over 1.5 million TEUs of additional capacity there.

We recognize that this is also ensuring that we're able to get ahead of the curve in looking ahead to what the forecast volume demands will be and how we ensure that port congestion does not become an issue that slows down Canada's ability to grow and diversify its trade.

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Thank you very much.

Additionally on that work, how is Transport Canada working with seaway authorities and port operators to address the choke points during the peak shipping seasons?

[Sonya Read]

We have had ongoing conversations to understand the causes of these choke points appearing in our system. We're continuing our analysis in terms of the the fluidity of the supply chain and when those occur. Sometimes they are the result of unforeseen events. Sometimes that congestion happens as a result of weather events or other temporary disruptions.

We work across the modes, with rail, road and ports, to identify areas of concern and potential solutions.

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Thank you very much.

Could you also speak to the infrastructure investments that have been made to modernize Canada's ports through the national trade corridors fund and the improvements to our clearance ecosystem?

[Sonya Read]

A number of investments were made under previous programs and under the national trade corridors fund program, which included port projects and required new or expanded CBSA services. This included, for example, the project at Duke Point, at the port of Nanaimo in B.C. Contrecoeur actually was first announced under the NTCF program, with a contribution of $150 million from the Government of Canada as well as $130 million from the province of Quebec.

There were additional initiatives at the ports of Halifax, Saint John, and Argentia in Newfoundland, all of which also required additional CBSA services.