Thank you.
I'll address this specific question: What is the state of Canada's supply chain?
In crop year 2021, the railway set a new benchmark in the movement of western Canadian grain, shipping over 61 million tonnes. All stakeholders benefited from the strong supply chain performance, and it showed what could be done when the grain handling and transportation system works effectively.
This 2021-22 crop year has been an illustration of great contrast and has given us yet another illustration as to how fragile our rail-based agricultural supply chain can actually be. There were two distinct sources of major disruptions: weather events and the recent railway labour issues.
Extreme weather events in 2021 severed the critical mainline railway artery twice in five months in the same general area in British Columbia. Since fully reopening on December 5, 2021, the railway system recovery has continued to be an ongoing struggle. This could have been a dire situation for the entire sector, but to some degree, the negative impacts on farmers have been mitigated by the 40% smaller crop harvested last year and a strong export program in the weeks before the railway disruptions.
This has had a major impact on the grain sector. Currently, 70% of western bulk grain is destined to go to the Port of Vancouver. This has been enabled by the significant investment by grain exporters in the port. The importance of this export outlet cannot be understated.
The most recent labour disruption at CP was just the latest issue to imperil the agricultural supply chain. Thankfully, this was resolved within days, but the knock-on effects will still be felt.
Looking forward, we clearly see further rising demand for our products, both domestically and internationally. As a country, we need to prioritize and coordinate an approach to critical infrastructure. There is work being done, but it needs to be expanded. It is complicated, as oftentimes the ownership of tunnels, bridges, railway lines and roads varies among participants in the supply chain.
I would point to the north shore grain terminals in the Port of Vancouver as just one example. There is one rail line that transits through a tunnel and over a lift-bridge to access the four grain terminals on the north shore. This route also serves other bulk commodity terminals. There's no backup routing to serve these terminals in the event of a disruption with the tunnel or the bridge. When critical supply chain infrastructure is imperilled, the entire system is affected.
We need to get back into the business of nation-building projects. Canadian farmers and the industry will need an effective rail-based transportation system, not just for the transportation of the current crop sizes but for those of the future, particularly as demand increases. Farmers will not be able to capitalize on opportunities from trade agreements without a reliable rail system that grain shippers and our global customers can have confidence in.
Thank you.