The answer is not a lack of willingness or readiness among the ports. We have been advocating for this for years. In fact, the ports I mentioned, both HOPA and Quebec City, have ready-made and ready-to-go facilities. With the last trade corridor funding program in the early twenties, Port Windsor was successful. We are currently building a terminal that will be ready and enabled for short-sea container shipping.
The problem we face is really one of securing proper support from CBSA. We have been in regular communication with them. They have regularly responded that it's about lack of resources. They are unable to support this. We were very gratified to see, in the last budget, some direction to CBSA and Transport Canada to provide support, starting with Hamilton and Quebec City, but it's not enough, quite frankly.
Yes, Hamilton and Quebec City have to get going, but the system on the Great Lakes will work only when all ports are participating. Unlike the east and west coasts, where you'll bring in a ship of 8,000 to 12,000 containers, we're looking at 800 to 1,200 containers. It's a milk run. You pick up a few hundred and drop off a few hundred. You go right through the Great Lakes and pick them up. It will be efficient and successful when we're all in it, including our American partners.
Having said that, we can't wait for the next two years as Hamilton and Quebec City get on board, then look at Windsor, then look at Thunder Bay and then look at Picton. We can't wait for a decade. By the end of this decade, we will have six major American ports up and running.