Transport Committee on Feb. 25th, 2026

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Thank you.

Before I go to Mr. Xotta, I'd like to hear from Mr. Métivier.

Mr. Métivier, you can comment on the previous question, too.

Can you tell us more about the regulations and legislation that govern importing and exporting?

Tell us about the direct and indirect jobs you touched on briefly, as well as why it's important for your regions to have a port in Matane.

[Eddy Métivier]

Thank you very much for the question.

We know business opportunities in shipping are being lost every day because the deck is operating at about 28% of a wharf's usual capacity in terms of the load it can bear.

That's why we need to build an additional wharf, wharf 2, which will be perpendicular to the first. This will ensure that wharf 1, which is currently at the end of its useful life, can continue to operate while the new wharf is being built. At that point, the two wharves will be able to handle increased tonnage, and the port will finally be able to meet the needs of shipping companies.

We'll go from 300,000 metric tons a year to almost 500,000 metric tons a year to meet customer demand. We'll create 400 direct and indirect jobs per year over and above the 1,144 existing jobs. We'll go from 1,000 jobs to 1,500 jobs. At that point, more than 10% of the population of Matane will depend on the port. We'll add $54 million to the $167 million we currently contribute to Quebec's GDP. We'll also be adding $9 million to the current $20.5 million in tax revenue. This opportunity must be seized.

The Canadian government is open to the idea of reducing its dependence on the American coast. We already export two-thirds of our goods to Asia and Europe. That's why we want to move forward with this project.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Lauzon.

Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Mayor, what your community is going through is deplorable, and you're not alone. Wharves all over Quebec are in a terrible state. In my riding, in Verchères, there's a wharf that has been abandoned for 30 years. I know there are more of them in the Gaspé, on the Côte‑Nord and in the Îles de la Madeleine. Less than a month ago, a wharf in Quebec City actually collapsed. All of that speaks to the federal government's failure to invest in its own infrastructure.

I'd like to talk to you about another aspect of this issue.

The government announced the creation of a new trade diversification corridors fund that includes port corridors. This is kind of a new version of the national trade corridors fund. These funds are often used for major projects, very sexy projects announced with great fanfare.

In many cases, the regions are ignored. Smaller projects are sometimes frozen out of these programs. The program criteria have not yet been announced. A Port of Québec official appeared before the committee this week. She really wants existing infrastructure to be part of it.

Do you think that certain criteria, which could benefit your region, should be taken into account before they're made public?

[Eddy Métivier]

Yes.

That's a really important criterion for the regions if we want them to contribute to the province's economy and the country's economy. We already export goods to Asia and Europe. The government should continue to support and encourage regions that contribute to economic development. We have the rail ferry. Coast Guard and RCMP vessels even dock here in Matane. All kinds of opportunities are being lost because the wharf is decrepit.

If we lose the port of Matane, we'll lose our maritime roots and our contribution to the economic development of the province and the country. That's totally unacceptable. There has to be a place for regional ports, for all the ports along the St. Lawrence. Big ports are essential, but they have to be connected to the regions. That's critical. Smaller ports and ports in the regions must be served. This program must take that into account.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Métivier.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor.

Next we have Mr. Albas.

Mr. Albas, the floor is yours. You have five minutes, sir.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm going to start with Mr. Xotta from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. Sir, the World Bank has an index every year, and—as I'm sure you know and it doesn't come as a surprise—unfortunately, your port is not as productive as we all might like.

Minister MacKinnon came here and told us he felt that getting your port to be more efficient is going to be a key component of the government strategy to increase and diversify our trade. I'd like to hear, first of all, where you feel you are at and what things the government can tangibly do—what we can recommend in our report—that would help you in this.

[Peter Xotta]

Thanks for the question, MP Albas.

The World Bank report is something that ports up and down the west coast look at. What I would say is this: The Port of Vancouver, in 2025, had record volumes in potash, grain, oil, autos and, yes, even containers. We have had three consecutive years of growth in containers. Our market share of containers on the west coast has continued to be very stable, notwithstanding a period of time over the last two years when we had reliability challenges, both weather-related and self-induced, including the heretofore mentioned labour situation.

Our recommendation to the Minister of Transport has been to pay close attention to the labour environment and to look at means by which we might signal internationally and, in fact, deliver more reliability going forward. That'll be a key condition for attracting investment and, of course, delivering reliable service to the importers and exporters in this country.

Another thing Minister MacKinnon said was that we should do more with what we have. I would point to one of the projects that I mentioned previously, which is the Centerm expansion project, in which we increased the land mass of the terminal by 15% and increased its capacity by 60%. That is what we need to be doing.

The investments that many of my colleagues have mentioned are about increasing the density on the available footprint and using the scarce resources that we have—the land and rail capacity to the west coast—as efficiently as possible. I believe that if we continue to make investments, both at tidewater and in the first and last mile improvements that I mentioned previously, we will continue to grow this gateway and we will continue on a path to delivering the doubling that our Prime Minister has talked about.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

When it comes to weather-related events, I understand that there have been a number of challenges. All ports have some of those from time to time, but particularly, when I mentioned anchorage to the minister, he did not seem to think this was an issue. I've heard that the port has often had to encourage that large cargo ships be held back when weather occurs, and it's a bit like the Wild West; there's no central authority that will come in unless it's the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard doesn't actually set where anchorage is, so it seems like the Wild West.

What do you think needs to happen? Does the port need to be given the authority, or should the government be consulting and trying to figure out how best to do it? If we're going to have more ships coming in, then to me it makes sense that we need to have a place to put them when weather-related events keep them from docking.

[Peter Xotta]

The use of anchorages within Burrard Inlet, in Vancouver's jurisdiction, as well as those in the southern Gulf Islands, an area where there are another 33 anchorages, is under the administrative control of the port authority. In other words, we administer it, but we don't control those locations. They're outside our jurisdiction.

Weather has an impact on the utilization of those anchorages, but I would point out the fact, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, that something called active vessel traffic management, as well as our centralized scheduling system, has put us in a much better position to predict when those events will occur.

I'm pleased to say that over the last two years, the utilization of the anchorages in the southern Gulf Islands in particular has not exceeded 50% for any period of time. The number of concerns that have been expressed by residents in that area has dramatically dropped since we implemented the system.

It's an example in which technology, aided in some cases by regulation but certainly supported by the federal government, can be very helpful in addressing legitimate concerns expressed by residents in those areas.

We are a port and a port region, so there will be vessels, and locations to put them will become important from time to time. We think that investment in technology and better communications can be very helpful in addressing concerns and certainly have been over the last two to three years.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much.

Finally for today, we'll go to Mr. Kelloway.

Mr. Kelloway, the floor is yours, and you have five minutes, sir.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses from British Columbia and Quebec. This has been a really good discussion on supply chains.

MP Barsalou-Duval, I really liked your question about smaller ports and how they fit into the mix here, or how they will fit into the mix, but I want to pivot a bit, if I can, to recruiting and retaining labour.

We all understand that ports across Canada often face unique and acute challenges when it comes to their operations. I'm assuming the things that ports face in Quebec or the Port of Prince Rupert are different in terms of scope and things of that nature.

I'll cut to the chase: What can the government do to help ports with recruitment and retention when it comes to labour and the specific needs that ports have?

We'll start with the Prince Rupert Port Authority, please, and then we'll go to our guests on the screen.

[Kevin Moraes]

I appreciate being here with our west coast colleagues from Vancouver.

Prince Rupert is unique, as one of Canada's major trade gateways. We are located in a small northern community in B.C. It's a town of 12,000 people. From a labour availability standpoint, our concern is always going to be about whether we have enough labour supply locally in the community.

As Katherine had mentioned, the $3 billion of new construction coming online is going to bring on hundreds of new jobs locally. We're really focused on working with our local municipal partners and industry partners on how community infrastructure—housing, water infrastructure and water treatment—can be implemented so we can recruit and retain labour in the community.

One benefit from the Government of Canada was investment into local water infrastructure. That is being implemented right now by the City of Prince Rupert. Going forward, investments into something like water treatment, so that we have clean drinking water in the community, would be of vital importance.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

Ms. Bamford, do you have anything to add?

[Katherine Bamford]

I don't have anything. Thank you.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

Maybe we'll go to our witnesses online.

What can the Government of Canada do to support you in recruitment and retention when it comes to your ports?

[Peter Xotta]

I'll jump in from Vancouver, sir.

I would think the aforementioned recommendation around reliability will continue to attract investment in the gateway, thus creating greater opportunity for employment. That would be fundamental to it.

There's an ongoing conversation on advancing productivity in the supply chain, particularly at the waterfront. I think training and development funding for adoption of new technologies is important.

Fundamentally, in the waterfront and in broader parts of the supply chain, there's probably not as much diversity as we would like. I think that training and finding pathways to increase diversity across the workforce is something that government can and should turn its attention to.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

Thank you very much.

Monsieur Métivier, would you like to comment, sir?

[Eddy Métivier]

Rehabilitating Matane's port would definitely create additional jobs, and the spouses of port workers could take other jobs in town. It's always beneficial to invest in our ports.

The regions have trouble attracting workers, and enhancing ports in the regions could support contingency plans for the largest ports in the province and the country.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

There used to be a show on CBC Nova Scotia called Reach for the Top. It was between high schools. You probably had something similar. They would say, “Okay, we'll have some short snappers, and we'll go around the horn.”

Maybe we can start here with Prince Rupert.

You talked about waste water. For the purposes of a report, is that a recommendation for further investments or are there other things that we could be doing?

We can then quickly go around to the witnesses who are online.

[Kevin Moraes]

We would say that the top recommendation is fundamentally water treatment for the local community. The local municipality would also agree with that.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

Thank you.

Monsieur Métivier, we'll go to you.

[Eddy Métivier]

I'm sorry. Can you repeat the question, please?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Sydney—Glace Bay, NS]

Is there a recommendation you would like to see in the report that will support the Government of Canada in supporting you in terms of retention and recruitment?