Mr. Speaker, throughout Canada's history, Parliament has strategically invested in a pan-Canadian transportation system that united the country and grew our economy: in the 1870s, a railway from coast to coast; in the 1940s, a network of airports. By the 1960s, the St. Lawrence Seaway was moving global cargo abroad, thereby completing multi-modal networks throughout our nation.
With the tabling of the Transportation Act review the stage is set for economically strategic, and sustainable federal infrastructure investments.
This Parliament is now in a position to establish a national transportation strategy to drive the next generation of transportation infrastructure investments that will strengthen our multi-modal networks and grow our nation's economy.
To quote David Emerson, “A recurring theme in the Report is the inseparable relationship between Canada’s international trade performance and the quality of the transportation and logistics systems.”