Evidence of meeting #45 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 cities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:40 a.m.
NDP
Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC
Thank you.
I have a question for you, Mr. Riseborough.
You talked about the Toronto airport. I have no doubt that, within the boundaries of the airport, you have both the means and the ability to coordinate all efforts to achieve your objectives. For problems outside the airport's boundaries, however, how do you work with the City of Toronto in order to achieve fluidity as quickly as possible?
11:40 a.m.
Director of Terminal Infrastructure, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
I'm not the expert on this, but our board of directors is made up of representatives from the surrounding cities—the City of Brampton, the City of Toronto, the City of Mississauga—and they're integrated into our processes on a regular basis. There's a consultative process to discuss transit, in particular, and roadways and connectivity to the airport. I don't know if that answers your question. Perhaps you could reframe it and I could get back to you on it.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Mr. Aubin, sorry, it was so interesting there, I didn't want to cut you off.
Mr. Badawey.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Vance Badawey Liberal Niagara Centre, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I do want to thank the witnesses for coming out today.
There's no doubt that today, and the days that we're working on this strategy have become the first days in our lives as they relate to investing in infrastructure. It's the new norm when it comes to investing in infrastructure.
That said, establishing a foundation is what we're trying to do here today, to begin the process of establishing a strategy in partnership with our municipal partners throughout the nation as well as the private sector. So, I'm going to ask you a blanket question to prepare us for that, and I'm looking forward to hearing from both of you.
In your opinion, what are the key components of a community improvement plan and growth strategy for a national smart city. I'm deliberately adding the words “community improvement” and community “growth strategy” along with a smart infrastructure strategy, for obvious reasons.
I would like to hear your comments on that.
11:45 a.m.
Director of the Strategic Support Services Division, Information Technology Service, City of Québec
May I begin?
11:45 a.m.
Director of the Strategic Support Services Division, Information Technology Service, City of Québec
We have to give priority to the people we serve and listen to them. We have to identify citizens' expectations and needs. That is the most important thing. This has to be integrated into a priority intervention plan. I would insist on that.
Earlier, I was asking why we need smart cities. The objective is to improve citizens' quality of life. We have to pay attention to their expectations and respond accordingly.
11:45 a.m.
Director of Terminal Infrastructure, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
Yes. At Toronto Pearson, as I was mentioning, we've experienced unprecedented growth, and that growth continues to come in a large margin, with close to three million additional passengers on an annualized basis. As a result of that, employment increases as well to be able to service the needs of those passengers.
What we actually do is move people and cargo, and aircraft are the instruments that we use to do that. To be able to do that, we need to be able to move people in and out of the physical facility in a reasonable and efficient way. What we really require is transportation systems to be able to facilitate that growth pattern.
If you look at 2035, with a possible 80-million passenger airport—perhaps even exceeding that—the transportation challenges in and around that employment zone will be significant. So, what we really need is a transportation infrastructure to develop using existing and emerging technologies and to take advantage of that to be able to provide the movement that's required.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Vance Badawey Liberal Niagara Centre, ON
Thank you.
Should the emphasis on the funding envelope the minister announced in tandem with the provinces and territories not only be leveraged by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments and private sector, but also be aligned with a lot of the strategies that are coming forward within the smart infrastructure strategy?
11:45 a.m.
Director of Terminal Infrastructure, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
I assume that question is for both of us.
11:45 a.m.
Director of Terminal Infrastructure, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
Can I ask you to reframe it a little just so I understand what you're asking?
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Vance Badawey Liberal Niagara Centre, ON
We're looking at getting returns on the investments that we're making in the infrastructure envelope from the $168 billion we've announced alongside the provincial allocations. Do you think that each and every cent that comes out of those funding formulas or funding envelopes should be aligned with the strategies that are being established through smart infrastructure?
11:45 a.m.
Director of Terminal Infrastructure, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
I'm in agreement with that concept. There's certainly a large volume of infrastructure dollars being spent, and it's key to us to have a strong transportation support for the airport movement, both in and out.
A large margin of our growth is also internal. Passengers don't necessarily enter the greater Toronto area; they may move on to other locations within Canada or the world. However, a measure of that growth is also local. The largest challenge, of course, is the movement of passengers in and out of the facility, as well as employees. There are about 45,000 employees working at Toronto Pearson, and a much larger number in the employment zone in and around Pearson. Investment in that transportation infrastructure would have a net return of significant value, generating better job growth. And the better the transportation, the more likely people will want to work in that area and businesses settle in that area and continue to develop and prosper.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Vance Badawey Liberal Niagara Centre, ON
In the fall statement in 2016, the federal government announced its intention to launch a smart cities challenge in 2017. In your view, what should be the priorities of this challenge?
11:50 a.m.
Director of the Strategic Support Services Division, Information Technology Service, City of Québec
With regard to infrastructure, the priority is to give information technologies a greater role. One of your colleagues said earlier that we have invested in concrete infrastructure, which is good. But is there a space to support that infrastructure? That is something your strategy should address.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to our guests here.
I want to cover three areas. One has to do with the basic infrastructure, the foundational infrastructure, that you need to bring on the real enhancements that smart city infrastructure can make. I'd particularly like to hear your advice as to how the federal government can support that foundational piece upon which you build the rest of your network.
The second one, which I'm going to start with, is dead-end technology. In my younger days I bought a Sony Betamax; I bought a Mini Disc system, and now they're gathering dust. I've seen my kids put a lot of money into video game systems and only a year and a half later needing a new one, because the new games outstrip the capacity of the old one.
We can spend a lot of money on technology that gets us nowhere. How do we guard against that? Do you see technology providing that iterative growth so you can build on one generation to enhance it, rather than throwing it all away and starting from scratch?
Mr. Riseborough, we'll start with you.
11:50 a.m.
Director of Terminal Infrastructure, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
That's a great question. One of the difficulties with technology is that you never really know how it's going to be adopted by the population. It could vary from location to location. I'd like to talk about the accelerating speed walk that we invested in as a research and development project.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
You can do that briefly, so we can have time for the other question.
11:50 a.m.
Director of Terminal Infrastructure, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
Sure. It's a research and development project, and we thought long and hard about it. It's a significant expense for us—tens of millions of dollars—and it was a difficult project to complete. We still believe strongly in that project, yet we still have the only two devices in the world to date. The manufacturer is pursuing other commercial options within other airports and other cities around the globe, but it still hasn't sold any of these accelerating walks.
If we don't invest, though, in research and development and take a chance on what seems to be a practical solution, technology will not advance. This was our attempt at making a calculated investment that we thought was a good investment in a technology that would survive.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Thank you for that.
Mr. Grondin, maybe I'll ask you the other question.
If we have cities that want to embrace the smart city technologies and are maybe not as far along as yours, what should the federal government do through its infrastructure to prepare them or help them be ready to apply smart city technology?