Transport Committee on March 21st, 2018

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Minister, I wanted to talk a bit more about the trade corridor funding. There was an item, I believe in one of the Vancouver papers, that decisions on the funding are eagerly awaited out on the west coast. Your department provided a list of some 40 bottlenecks that are in the way of a smooth flow of trade through what is a very complex region, in transportation terms, both between the domestic flow of goods, services, and people, and of course trade in and out of the two major ports.

On what basis are you going to make decisions, then, regarding which projects to support with the funding?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

That's a very good question, and it allows me to link back to the movement of grain, which was brought up by Ms. Block at the beginning and is very important. Most western grain goes to the west coast. There's some that goes to Thunder Bay, and some goes to the United States, but the vast majority goes to Vancouver and up to Prince Rupert.

As you know, the port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada, and there are some bottlenecks in the Lower Mainland. One of the things that will help with the movement of grain, ultimately, will be to reduce the number of bottlenecks. It's not just grain, of course; it's also potash, forestry products, mineral products, and containers. It's a variety of products that we move. About $200 billion moves through the port of Vancouver every year.

We're looking at it from the point of view of how we get the best bang for our buck—if I can put it that way—in terms of addressing specific bottlenecks. We can't address everything because we don't have enough money to do that, but we want to focus on those that will make the movement of all those goods the most fluid possible. We're spending a great deal of time trying to come up with the right ones so that when products move to the west coast, they move as efficiently as possible with the least amount of delay.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I don't know if it is fair to ask you to comment on this, but do you have confidence in the degree of planning, especially integrated planning, between all of the complementary pieces on the west coast?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

I do indeed. As you may know, the national trade corridors fund is not just 100% federal money: it is partly federal money, but it is also provincial money. It is also, in some cases, private sector money, and it could be municipal money. That should tell you that a lot of parties are talking together because they have a mutual interest in eliminating a problem, and that is the approach that is being taken.

We will prioritize those projects for which the funding has been assured by the all of the other partners, and that usually happens for projects where there is the greatest deal of concern about the bottlenecks.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I wanted to talk a bit about grain. As you pointed out, this committee did quite a bit of work looking at rail operations. Through this committee, we brought forward some recommendations to the effect that, for the first time, there be reciprocal penalties on the railways for failure to meet performance agreements with shippers and farmers.

I would want some kind of speculation, I suppose, about what would have happened in the current situation in the Prairies had those reciprocal penalties been applied to the railways.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Well, to some extent it's speculative, but there's no question that one of the major accomplishments of Bill C-49 is that it will provide more options to shippers—who, in some cases, are in the situation of being located where there's only a single railway—and ultimately to the farmers who supply them, because they will have reciprocal penalties in place.

There's a new definition of “adequate and suitable service”, and there are a number of other measures. You have seen it yourself, because you received the testimony during 30 hours in September from a whole bunch of people who provided you with input.

The feedback I've received from many of them is that this was a bill that tried to achieve that balance in terms of not only addressing long-standing shipper grievances but also ensuring that we still had the capability for our railways to be able to continue as businesses. They need to invest in new infrastructure. They need to continue to provide service for the movement of all those goods across the country. I think we ended up with a bill coming out of this committee that was a really well-balanced bill, and I hope that will be the case when it comes out of the Senate.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Garneau.

We go on to Mr. Badawey.

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister and team, for being here today.

I have to congratulate you, Minister. You've put a lot of legislation through in the past year, as well as what your vision is now. It is long overdue.

I want to touch on and speak about some of the topics that Mr. Hardie brought forward as they relate to trade corridors.

Can you give us some information and an update on your vision with respect to the different layers that you've established when it comes to the national transportation strategy—trade corridors, modernization of ports, infrastructure investments—and working with our municipal, private sector, regional, provincial, and territorial partners? I heard in your opening remarks about innovation and modernization. I heard economic enhancement. I heard strategy integration and, once again, infrastructure investments. Obviously they will allow us to perform much better on a global economic stage.

Can you comment on that and where you see us going in 2018, 2019, and beyond?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Thank you.

I will try to encapsulate what Transportation 2030 is, which is the document that guides us. There are a number of objectives with respect to our transportation system. I've said many times that I regard our transportation systems in this country as absolutely crucial for the economy. In fact, I regard transport as an economic portfolio.

How efficiently we move our goods determines ultimately in part the economic prosperity of the country. We're a trading nation. The people we market to across the world have other choices. Among other things, the quality of our products and our trade agreements are important, but unless we get the goods to them in an efficient way, they're going to go look elsewhere. It is very important. It's also important to move people efficiently, and that's why the national trade corridors fund is an example of trying to make the system more efficient.

Second, from an environmental point of view, we live in a world today where we have to recognize that 24% of the greenhouse gases produced in Canada come from transportation. The majority do come from cars and trucks, about 80%, but railways, airplanes, and ships also provide their contributions, if I can put it that way. Trying to move towards cleaner transportation modes is part of our agenda as well.

The third is innovation. Innovation is important not only in terms of.... It helps in a host of manners if we're talking about any mode of transport. If you're moving towards more innovative modes of transport, they probably will be more efficient in terms of fuel economy. They'll probably be cleaner. Those are also important.

Another element that I would like to mention about our coasts and our northern territories and the Arctic, of course, is a focus on marine safety, a focus on trying to ensure that those coastal areas and the Arctic remain places that are attractive for people, not only as tourists but as people who live by the sea and from the sea. We are trying to satisfy our coastal first nations on the west coast and our Inuit in the north in such a manner that they can continue with the quality of life that they expect.

Those are, overall, the general guiding principles behind the Transportation 2030 vision.

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Great. Thank you, Minister.

The last question is with respect to VIA Rail. We have here $134.5 million to provide safe, reliable, and efficient passenger rail surface in the most cost-efficient manner. Can you comment a bit on why and how? Why is there this investment, and how is it going to enhance travel for the customer?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Many people don't know this, but the Government of Canada subsidizes VIA Rail in this country. When you buy a ticket, if you are in the corridor between Quebec and Windsor, where there is 94% of the travel, there is a certain amount of federal subsidization. If you're in other parts of the country, the subsidization is in the hundreds of dollars per ticket.

One of the reasons we want to go to a new fleet in the Windsor-Quebec corridor is that it will be more efficient and hopefully will cost less.

The concept of high-frequency rail, which we're looking at, has the potential, if we can satisfy ourselves that many more people will take the train, of making VIA Rail more self-sustaining so that less money will be required from the federal government by VIA Rail.

We know that passenger service is important to Canadians, but we would like to make it as competitive as possible. We would like to get, if possible, to the point where we can diminish the federal subsidies. We're not there yet.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We move now to Mr. Chong.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for appearing in front of us.

You're asking in the interim estimates for some $82 million for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and for authorities to enter into commitments for up to $196 million. I have a few questions about that.

What is the status of Manny Moroun's bridge project since you granted a permit to him last September for a second bridge at that crossing? What's the status of his project?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

With respect, by the way, the Gordie Howe bridge comes under Minister Sohi at the moment. I think once it's built, it will come under me.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

I understand.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

It's an infrastructure project at the moment.

With respect to the Ambassador Bridge, at the moment it is the main crossing bridge between Windsor and Detroit. The decision was made, given the age of the current bridge and the application from the owner of the bridge, for us to allow a replacement bridge.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

What is the status of that replacement bridge project? Have they begun construction? Are they going to?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

No, they have not begun construction.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

When are they going to begin construction?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

I don't know exactly when. However, it will be under very specific conditions, which I'm happy to give you at any time.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

When is construction on our bridge, Canada's bridge, going to begin?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

You will have to ask Minister Sohi that. I'd rather not answer on his behalf.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Okay.

Let me ask you a broader question, then, because this relates to cabinet decisions.

We're building another bridge as well in this country—“we” being the Government of Canada, your government. That's the Champlain Bridge. It's costing some $4 billion, and your government made a decision to waive the tolls on that bridge, effectively passing that cost along to taxpayers across the country.

Is your government contemplating waiving the tolls on the Gordie Howe bridge that crosses between Detroit and Windsor?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

No, it will be a toll bridge.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

I don't see how that's fair. The people of southwestern Ontario deserve to be treated equitably.