Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thanks again to the standing committee. We certainly appreciate your bringing the committee to the Niagara region. Thank you for that.
I just want to state for the record that the City of Welland is supportive of and is aligned with other municipalities in Niagara and the other key stakeholders you would have heard from today, who really want to create a blueprint to establish Niagara as a key trade corridor within Canada's economy, as well as being a gateway to global markets. For us to be able to achieve that, we have some bottlenecks in the system that we need to get rid of, and we need the support of the federal government and other partners to do that.
In the case of Welland, I would say we've been experiencing a bit of a renaissance over the last few years. Welland, like other industrial manufacturing communities, was hit hard 10 to 15 years ago during the global restructuring and global recession, but over the last three years we've been able to attract almost 1.5 million square feet of new industrial space. One of those companies that's relocated to Welland is GE. They have since sold their plant to Advent International, but the fact of the matter is that Welland and Niagara have the programs, the incentives, the proximity to the U.S. border and the workforce to attract companies of that magnitude.
The companies we've attracted to Welland and the companies we are in the process of attracting, they like Welland and they like Niagara. They like having options other than the QEW. They like having a rail option. They like having a water option. We've had some discussions with the Hamilton Port Authority, specifically Ian Hamilton. I understand he presented here this morning. We've had some discussions with him about partnering with the port authority, as well as the seaway authority, to create a new dock along the Welland Canal. There's demand for marine industrial land. As Mr. Hamilton may have said to you this morning, the Hamilton Port Authority is sold out. They have, I think, 60 businesses on their waiting list. That's not to say that all of those businesses would locate in Niagara along the Welland Canal, but I suspect a large portion of them would. Therefore, we feel there's an opportunity for a partnership between the seaway authority and our friends down the table here, the port authority and other municipal partners.
I should say that we've had one meeting with Minister Garneau to talk about this proposal. We've also had some discussions with his ministerial staff, and I think our conceptual idea was well received by the minister as a way to really enhance and create that trade corridor within Canada's economy.
The other issue I wanted to touch on—but I won't touch on it at any length—is the importance and necessity of creating an alternative beyond the QEW. You've probably heard today about a mid-peninsula highway. That's really important to Welland and Niagara and to the business community here. I won't dwell on it, but suffice it to say that the QEW is no longer an option. It's impacting business competitiveness. We feel it's time for municipal partners and the federal and provincial governments to make a strategic investment in the future-ready infrastructure that we need in our Canadian economy that would, again, really position Niagara and Hamilton as a key trade corridor zone within Canada, but also, as I said earlier, as a key gateway to global markets.
I'd be pleased to answer any questions that you have later.
Thank you, Madam Chair.