On the west coast, there are obvious pressures coming from U.S. ports south of the Vancouver ports, south of Prince Rupert. Now, fortunately, the assessment has been made that there are competitive advantages in terms of the amount of time it takes for a shipping line to arrive at North America from Asia. It's important, obviously, that ports be able to capitalize on that sort of thing.
The access to infrastructure investment would only serve to ensure the competitive viability of ports. As I mentioned earlier, clearly our ports are well run, financially stable ports, but they are also competing with ports, whether they are on the west coast or elsewhere, that receive government funding in a number of different areas. We're trying to put them on a level playing field
We also need to look forward. The Panama Canal is expanding to allow larger ships. What does that mean in terms of a change in shipping patterns? Could that possibly affect the east coast? Are there trade opportunities opening as a result of possible trade routes in from India via the Suez Canal that could potentially have considerable benefits to east coast ports, whether it be Halifax or other ports in Atlantic Canada, or Montreal, for that matter? Are there opportunities as well in terms of a different kind of access into the major market in North America, the one around the Great Lakes, via the Seaway?
Those are all things that are in play at this time, but obviously both the port authorities and various observers, including Transport Canada, are looking very clearly at what kind of shifts are occurring in trade patterns. Obviously when the national marine policy was being developed in the mid-1990s, the role of Asia—and of China particularly—on the world market scene was nowhere near what it is today and what is being projected, not only for Asia but also for other evolving economies.