I should clarify that in the proposed main estimates there is no funding for a trade and transportation corridor data initiative or an initiative on developing better intelligence on transportation system fluidity and logistics. There is, however, language in budget 2017 to do exactly that, and there are a couple of points on that.
First, I would point members to Minister Garneau's speech on November 3 laying out a proposed vision, what the minister refers to as “Transportation 2030”. He put a very strong emphasis on the importance of developing a trade and transportation corridor network in the country that is efficient, fluid, and intelligent. To do that, one requires better data on how that trade and transportation corridor network is functioning, real-time information on its performance, and real-time information on where there are problems and bottlenecks that need to be resolved.
Second, the thinking behind some of that is that if government can use its offices to pool the information and the data from the various operators in the network and make that generally available, it would allow all partners in the transportation value chain to make better decisions that create a more fluid transportation system and allow Canadian companies to get their products to global markets more reliably and at lower cost.
The program I think the member is referring to in budget 2017 is a targeted initiative on data to pull that information and make it publicly available so that all players in the transportation value chain are able to make more informed decisions that result in a more efficient transportation and logistics system for Canada.