Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to commend the activities of National Transportation Week to the House.
As Canadians we are all aware of the major importance transportation has in the life of a nation that borders on three oceans and ranges across mountains, tundra, prairies and rolling countryside.
On the export market 18 to 45 per cent of the price of Canadian primary products such as coal and forest products is transportation costs. For manufactured goods at least 5 per cent of the price is the result of transportation and in some cases that figure can be as high as 17 per cent. Domestically the cost of transporting goods is equally important. An estimated 40 per cent of provincial exports are sold in regions other than where they are produced.
Government and industry must work together to build the operational links that will ensure the seamless transportation systems that will do justice to the professionalism, dedication and hard work of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who keep our transportation systems running safely, efficiently and effectively.
Please join me in a salute to these Canadians workers during National Transportation Week '94.