Thank you very much for having us here today.
My name is Brad Eshleman. I'm the Chair of the B.C. Marine Terminal Operators Association. We represent all the major export and import terminals on the west coast of Canada, handling over 120 million tonnes annually and virtually 100% of the trade on and off deep-sea vessels on the west coast of Canada.
We were established in 1963, so we have a long history on the west coast. Our mandate is to improve the economic and environmental viability of B.C. marine terminals and invest in and promote the value of the port industry to local communities, the province and the nation. We're very engaged in our local communities. We're engaged with first nations in all the ports we operate in. Our members are also significant sponsors of local charities and community events and those in need in our community.
Investment in our terminal capacity has been the primary objective of our members over the last number of years. In addition to the jobs that we've created, we've invested over $3 billion in the last eight years. We have $3 billion in invested in terminal capacity, and we have potential future investments of over $5 billion. This has all been enabled through the support of government investments in trade corridor infrastructure and the B.C. Ports Property Tax Act, and it's through private industry.
What this has resulted in is the creation of family-sustaining jobs. The longshore hours of work have increased from approximately six million hours in 2008 to a projected nine million in 2018. That's a 50% increase in hours. These investments have resulted in an increase of over 2,000 family-sustaining jobs throughout the marine industry alone. These jobs come with good pensions and good health benefits.
I have some comments for the committee. The west coast is Canada's gateway for western Canada's commodities to the world. Terminals play a central role in driving innovations and capacity, given their position as a convergent point in the supply chain. We have demonstrated significant success in working together. Governments, with private industry, have joined to expand Canada's trade capacity to the world with the investments that the federal government has made in the trade corridors and that the private industries have made.
However, there are a number of areas that we need to focus on to continue this success. One is that further investments are needed by governments to address bottlenecks in the trade corridors. This requires a coordinated approach with input from industry stakeholders to ensure that maximum benefit is derived to increase capacity.
Another one is preserving and creating new terminal capacity. Terminal land with deep water, road access, and rail access is in short supply on the west coast. Continued investments by terminal operators to create capacity is required to meet our trade demands. Canada's current regulatory environment seems to be creating more obstacles to investment rather than a clearer path. This is obviously a concern to the terminals that are investing to help handle those goods for Canada's trade to the world.
I know there is a current review going on with respect to environmental reviews and how we're going to handle those in the future, and I would ask that the federal government be mindful of that, as bringing terminal investment forward in a timely basis is critical for that investment to happen.
You will note that there is a grain terminal being built in Vancouver right now called G3. It will be the most efficient grain terminal on the west coast of North America, handling over eight to 10 million tonnes annually. This investment, if it had been delayed in environmental regulatory processes for a lengthy time, likely would not have occurred. The panel needs to be aware of that.
Another item is addressing competitiveness and productivity issues. It's important we work with labour to improve the efficiency of our transportation systems or risk being non-competitive with other ports in the world market. We must recognize that people are the central consideration to the marine sector's ability to support the economy and the reliability of our country's supply chains. It is important that we be viewed as an efficient and reliable port of call for shipping companies to compare and call and pick up or drop off goods.
We're currently reviewing labour availability. It has been an issue with respect to our industry. Right now we have increased capacity, so it creates strains on our system.
Labour practice is under review. We're currently negotiating a collective agreement with our labour partners, which is going well right now. However, we do not want to see a slowdown or labour disruption in the future, as that goes to the credibility of our trade and our ports in the world's eyes.