Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that.
I want to start off by saying that I'd like to speak about how robust the consultation has been between the government and at least some of the partners in my area of the country. I'm going to direct these questions at one of those partners that we've had robust communications and consultation with, which is the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority and Ms. Fenn.
Ms. Fenn, I'll preface my comments by congratulating you, your organization and your team at Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority for the work you've done on enhancing the capacities available at an intermodal port on behalf of the cities of Hamilton, Niagara and Oshawa. I do want to dive in a bit deeper on that, especially as it relates to the benefits of investing in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence, and in particular the Niagara region, Hamilton and Oshawa. The current expanded structure of HOPA, the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority, is enhancing your overall capacity.
With that all said, we've heard a lot about this in the consultations we've been having in the last few committee meetings. We've heard about enhancing capacities with respect to strengthening overall the international trade performance that we as a country will have as we enhance those capacities; smart ports; integrating through digitization; intermodal trade infrastructure; investments in that infrastructure, whether it be water, rail, road or air; embracing energy transition, such as the benefit of shipping over other modes of transport; and of course the things that we don't think about all that often, such as CBSA enhancements in capacities, and others that complement your operation.
I'm going to throw this out to you, Ms. Fenn, with respect to a few questions. One, how can you assist manufacturers' distribution logistics within the supply chains in terms of the operation within your partnership? Two, how can you contribute to a national manufacturing strategy? Three, what investments have been, and need to be, completed to enhance HOPA's overall capacity and therefore strengthen the fluidity within the supply chains? Do you consider the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority a smart port?
Finally, Ms. Fenn, what recommendations would you make within the port's modernization review to satisfy all of the above?