Thank you for your question.
In our view, Canadian ports as a whole, particularly those known as destination ports, are not valued in the same way as other ports. Let me give you an example. The index in question does not take into account the fact that ships are fully loaded and unloaded in Montreal, i.e., 100%. In the methodology used, this aspect is actually not taken into account. Yet, in reality, we are a very productive port.
However, we can certainly do better. There is no doubt that, in order for us to perform as well as the world’s top-performing ports, we need better intermodal coordination, particularly by working with all levels of government. At present, the challenges facing the Port of Montreal are also linked to the equipment investments required at both the provincial and municipal levels. This work would go a long way towards improving overall performance.
I cannot stress this enough: The reason why some ports elsewhere in the world are performing better than us is that we are not competing on a level playing field. These ports have higher revenues, more diversified revenues and greater digitalization capacity, particularly because they possess both a scale and network effects that we do not have in Canada.