Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here today to support Motion No. 550 and to speak about our government's ongoing work to provide an increased level of rail service throughout Canada.
Our government has already taken steps to improve rail service for all shippers in Canada and in doing so, has enhanced the competitiveness of the Canadian economy and the economic prosperity of all Canadians.
As part of our government's response to the events last winter that hampered the timely and efficient movement of western grain to market, the Minister of Transport advanced the launch of the statutory review of the Canada Transportation Act by a full year. In doing so, she gave the review panel the explicit mandate to consider the provisions of the act that are relevant to the transportation of grain by rail, while taking into account the broader goal of a commercially based, market-driven, multi-modal transportation system that delivers the best possible service to all users. Many of the provisions that are relevant to the movement of grain also apply more broadly to supply chains for the movement of other export commodities that are dependent upon rail and upon which the success of Canada's exporters is based.
I should note that the review panel will also examine the act to ensure that Canada's rail system has the capacity and adaptability that will allow it and its users to respond effectively to changing economic conditions in both international and domestic markets. This examination includes a look at the major trends on an international and domestic basis that are relevant to the understanding of future demands for transportation capacity in Canada. In turn, this will help us understand whether existing or planned capacity and performance improvements will respond sufficiently to these needs and can address periodic demands for surge capacity.
As many of my hon. colleagues probably already know, the review panel has been quite active since its launch. It has issued a discussion paper, called for submissions and met with the stakeholders throughout the country, and its work continues. I think my hon. colleagues would also agree that it is important that we let the review panel conduct its work in an independent fashion and await its recommendations.
Our government is proud to work with its stakeholders to build a world-class transportation system.
I am pleased to highlight two initiatives to enhance the collaboration among all participants in Canada's supply chains to address issues and ensure Canadian exports can reach their markets in a timely and efficient way.
The first initiative is to establish a commodity supply chain table last summer by the Minister of Transport. The table provides a forum for shippers, railways, ports, terminals and other partners in the rail-based supply chains to work together on ways to improve the speed and efficiency with which Canada's commodity exports reach their markets.
This important co-operative forum brings together key representatives from Canada's agricultural, forestry, chemical and petroleum product sectors with those from its railroads, ports, grain elevators and shipowners to work together in a collaborative fashion to identify issues and explore potential solutions to the challenges facing Canada's rail-based supply chain.
This table meets twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. Facilitated by officials from Transport Canada it promotes exchanges on logistical issues affecting supply chains in Canada for bulk commodities that are shipped by rail. It also gives service providers and shippers in these supply chains the opportunity to share information on trends and expected future traffic and commodity movements. In this respect, one of the table's top priorities is to work on the development of performance metrics that will help to increase the transparency and visibility of the system's overall performance and identify areas where improvements may be needed.
The second initiative is our government's Asia-Pacific intermodal performance committee of the national transportation system performance table, which is also managed by Transport Canada. This committee is an initiative that engages the public and private sectors with the goal of improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the supply chain for containers moving through Canada's west coast over the long term.
The committee is composed of a cross section of major transportation, shipping and labour interests operating in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. It uses a monthly scorecard of metrics to tackle supply chain issues that are common to the users and beyond the capacity of single organizations to resolve.
I would like to note that this table follows on the success of another forum, the winter contingency planning table. That was established to enhance co-operation between shippers, the railroads and terminal operators at Port Metro Vancouver, and to improve the performance and capacity of the Asian-Pacific gateway by addressing winter-related supply chain issues. Participants at this table share information on forecasts for commodity movements and expected changes to the capacity and infrastructure improvements, as well as discuss specific issues and potential solutions to the problems that arose during the previous winter season.
In summary, the Minister of Transport launched a review of the Canada Transportation Act a full year ahead of schedule in response to problems that emerged in the rail-based supply chain for moving western grain. Its recommendations will provide the opportunity to improve the capacity and service for all of those who rely on the railways to move their products to the market.
This government is taking the necessary steps to build a world-class transportation system which Canadian firms and exporters can rely on to succeed in competitive domestic and international marketplaces. We will continue to listen to all stakeholders in an effort to implement an economic, legal and regulatory framework that reflects the importance of rail service and capacity for the Canadian economy and the Canadian agricultural sector.