All right.
Jobs in the logistics and transportation sector are good jobs filled by competent people. As these jobs are changing, the workforce will need more training to meet the technological challenges of tomorrow. Over the past two years, the Canadian port system has demonstrated flexibility. However, there is no doubt that we need to develop capacity and show resilience, particularly in the face of climate change.
It is not enough to develop additional infrastructure. What we need is customized infrastructure to enable ports to optimize their operations, including the acquisition of land for cargo handling and storage. In the era of “just in case”, the administration is concerned about costs of maintenance and inventory management that increase the price of imported and exported goods. We must therefore be a strong ally to business. The establishment of strategic corridors could make joint investments possible and facilitate collaboration between governments. This is to everyone's advantage.
Low carbon supply chains are essential for the future, whether through electrification or the use of bioenergy, we can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from our platforms with modern equipment. Ports must play a key role in the energy transition. Moreover, the Canadian government can accelerate the energy transition by reducing the risks for future private investment.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and optimizing the supply chain cannot be done without a common framework between the key players: access to data, digitization and collaboration are essential. We must build a framework that promotes visibility and optimizes supply chains. Improved data governance and sharing regimes are low hanging fruit that only the Canadian government can pick. To make better decisions, we need better information.
In conclusion, I firmly believe that ports have a critical role to play in the resilience of Canadian supply chains. Working together, under the leadership of the Canadian government, we can address the challenges of labour, infrastructure, greening and innovation to provide Canadians with more resilient supply chains.
Thank you.