Evidence of meeting #108 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was projects.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Edmonton Riverbend, CPC
Do you know off the top of your head why a permit was given to the Ambassador Bridge, when the Gordie Howe Bridge was already in place?
Director General, Surface Transportation Policy, Department of Transport
I don't, off the top of my head. Again, I can go back and get that information.
Edmonton Riverbend, CPC
Anything you would be able to provide us with would be helpful, to understand that further.
Thank you.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
With all due respect to my colleague across the table, I do feel the need to clarify the fact that I do not believe it is the role of parliamentary committees to support the work of the department. I think we're here to learn on our own, and to inform our own caucuses about what we've learned. While I hope that the report we submit may be taken up by the department, or even the minister himself, I think we continually get dragged back into that narrative about our being here to support the minister's work and the department's work. We're not. We are masters of our own destiny, and we study the things we want to study because we want to learn from them.
I want to ask a question building on the comments that my colleague made in his initial intervention regarding oil by rail. What, if anything, is in place that brings together departmental officials from various departments—for example, Transport, Infrastructure, and Natural Resources—to perhaps look at addressing an issue that might cross the lines of those departments? If you could define that for me, I would appreciate that.
Director General, Surface Transportation Policy, Department of Transport
Across departments, we do have our own working group committees on rail. There are individual committees within the departments, such as Natural Resources Canada, AgCan and Transport Canada, but we do come together as a group as well to talk, for example, about the commodity mix that's in the system and what's being forecast going forward, as well as some of the issues coming up, such as bottlenecks and planning going forward, how we can engage both the class one railways and the commodities to ensure that there's fluidity in the network, as well as issues coming up as we see things, such as oil on rail, so that we can bring those up within our respective departments, those issues that are bubbling up to the surface.
The departments with those mandates can look at the issues and decide what policy response may be coming forward, relative to the issues that we're starting to see, or that we see, on the rail system.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Does the major projects management office still exist?
Director General, Surface Transportation Policy, Department of Transport
The major projects management office still exists, from my understanding. Again, it's out of my mandate as it's under the Natural Resources Canada mandate.
Director General, International Relations and Trade Policy, Department of Transport
I believe it does, as does the northern projects management office.
Churence Rogers Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, Lib.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Welcome to our witnesses this morning.
Being from Newfoundland and Labrador, I see a very different picture in terms of transportation networks from what we've seen in other parts of the country. Many of the challenges that our seafood producers and small businesses have are about getting access to markets. Getting product from Newfoundland and Labrador to foreign markets is a real challenge in many cases, as it is in other parts of Atlantic Canada.
I think this national transportation strategy provides a unique opportunity to enhance the unique advantages that we have as a country. Could you please elaborate on how this will enhance existing trade and transportation systems, particularly in Atlantic Canada?
Director, Transportation Infrastructure Programs (West), Department of Transport
As I mentioned earlier, in terms of Atlantic Canada and the projects that were selected in Newfoundland and Labrador, we really looked at four priorities for the first call for proposals. One of those was the resiliency, safety and security of some key transportation assets. One of the projects approved in Labrador is the Gander International Airport Authority's application for some runway upgrades to continue to keep that airport in operations and to maintain that key transportation corridor.
In addition, there were improvements to port cargo handling productivity at the St. John's Port Authority. Both of those link to international connections and getting goods, be it seafood or others, off Newfoundland shores to the international and national markets.
Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, Lib.
Could you comment a little more on how the port modernization review fit into this overall strategy, particularly for Atlantic Canada?
Director, Transportation Infrastructure Programs (West), Department of Transport
Do you mean the port handling productivity? I'm not sure if I completely understand.
Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, Lib.
How does the ports modernization renewal fit into the overall strategy?
Director General, International Relations and Trade Policy, Department of Transport
We have a port guy.
Director, Port Policy, Department of Transport
Good morning.
We are indeed in consultations with stakeholders from across the country. We have also launched a call for submissions, which is on until October 26. We are inviting various stakeholders and clients from the marine sector, for instance, but also from the fishing industry, to share their challenges in terms of optimization and competitiveness of the marine sector in trade.
Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, Lib.
The seafood industry faces challenges in regard to trade, not just Newfoundland and Labrador, but Atlantic Canada. One of the largest markets for seafood is Asia. How will this strategy enhance and integrate transportation systems and logistics across the entire country so that goods produced and harvested in Atlantic Canada travel seamlessly to their destinations and do not face impediments while still on Canadian soil?
Director General, International Relations and Trade Policy, Department of Transport
I'll take that one.
The goal of the trade and transportation corridors initiative is to view the transportation system from a national perspective. Even if something is going from the far eastern part of the country in Atlantic Canada to Asia, it's a question of ensuring that a change in some of the infrastructure around Montreal, Toronto or Edmonton might help with getting something from one end of the country to the other.
The goal is to ensure that the infrastructure that supports internal trade will also end up supporting international trade, because it is seen as a seamless system, especially now with so many other choices in how to get from point A to point B. There's not only air, but also shipping through the Panama Canal. Something could even leave from the Atlantic provinces and just go through the Suez Canal to get to Asia, depending on where in Asia. I think Singapore is a point of indifference. It doesn't matter if you go from the west or from the east.
All those things are under consideration in this national program.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Mr. Bittle has indicated that you want to share that one minute with him. It's now 45 seconds, so you'll have to be very fast.
Chris Bittle St. Catharines, Lib.
My biggest concern, and I'll try to sum it up as quickly as I can.... Like Vance, I'm from Niagara, and we have the St. Lawrence Seaway. Niagara residents are uniquely impacted because the seaway cuts the peninsula in half. There's a review, and I'm concerned when looking at your slide deck, which says that Transport Canada will compile and assess the review's key findings with a view to supporting the renewal of the framework. It seems like there's already a determined outcome for the review.
My biggest concern representing the residents of St. Catharines is that the seaway doesn't interact with the municipalities; it doesn't interact with the people. Though we're told that billions of dollars in trade goes by, we sit at the shoreline and wave as it goes by. We're impacted by the bridges. We're impacted by delays, and we're impacted by the seaway's failure to develop any of their economic land.
Why isn't the department consulting Niagara residents, and is the review already a determined process?