Transport committee  I'll make a general comment, and then I would like our members to weigh in on this, because they have more practical experience. My understanding is that in some cases it takes years. It's a process that's informed by an accounting firm that is doing an analysis of what the borrowing limits should be, yet it still goes through Transport Canada.

Transport committee  As I said in my notes, our colleagues in labour who appeared the other day really heightened our concerns about the governance aspects of Bill C-33. In response to questions on Monday, Mr. Ashton made it clear that he's not looking for labour expertise and input on the boards or the view of individuals with experience in labour, because that's already built in the process today.

Transport committee  I hope I didn't get anybody in trouble. I actually think that I heard Serge Bijimine allude to one of the changes the other day. There were some issues that we had identified. We drafted a letter to Minister Alghabra back in the fall and followed up with a memo in June with some additional info.

Transport committee  Certainly, that was one of the things we definitely heard from different ports, particularly the smaller ports, when it came to some of the reporting requirements. There is a concern there that it is a heavy burden. I have to add on that official language requirements, which have also been tightened, add to everything.

Transport committee  Thank you, and good evening. Committee members, port authority colleagues, good evening. Thank you for this opportunity to share our views on Bill C‑33. Canada's port authorities have long awaited modernization of the legislative framework they operate within, as it represents the single most important means of addressing Canada's impending and tremendous infrastructure gap.

Transport committee  A port authority is really a convenor of many different parts of the supply chain that come together. Locally, absolutely they take a very strategic view of how all those pieces fit together. Certainly, Hamilton, in your backyard, has been quite excellent at that. What we would like to see, though, is the next step, which is going beyond the actual port itself and looking at the various corridors that are involved.

Transport committee  I would say the financial aspects of Bill C-33 are where we have the biggest questions about the bill. We first saw the bill when it was tabled in the House of Commons. We reviewed it and addressed questions and concerns in a letter to Minister Alghabra in December. We had a good, productive meeting with Transport Canada officials one month ago today, but we have big questions about how the borrowing process will work.

Transport committee  For us, there was a recommendation on providing port authorities with greater financial flexibility through more autonomy and authority. That speaks to what I was speaking to with Dr. Lewis in terms of the borrowing limits and moving to a model that is more flexible. Mr. Boudreau just spoke to what the Vancouver Airport Authority is doing to improve the efficiency of its operations.

Transport committee  You know, I was visiting one of our ports, and they have an interesting story. They have enough land to have the capacity to handle the next 50 years. They don't need to physically expand the footprint of the port, but they need to move some things around. They have an opportunity to relocate, for example, some of where their cruise operations are.

Transport committee  Certainly my colleague from Vancouver can add to my comments, but it takes years. There are fixed borrowing limits in the letters patent for each of our CPAs. It takes years to change them. My understanding is that they represent maybe half of what an organization that doesn't have limits would be able to borrow.

Transport committee  As my colleague, Mr. Miller, indicated, traffic flows to a certain port for a reason. If there's private investment interest in a certain area, there's a reason for that. I would also say that certainly when we're looking at the national trade corridors fund, it's not a guaranteed process, and there are federal officials who are evaluating these applications.

Transport committee  Well, we have an impact assessment process that's in place now, and that's how we reconcile those challenges. It's certainly beyond my expertise to comment on how well we're doing that. What I will say is that on the project my colleague has been referring to, the Roberts Bank Terminal 2, it has been 10 years that this has been under review, so I would say that seems to be evidence of a fairly robust environmental assessment process, perhaps a little more robust than is required.

Transport committee  If I may add to that, the only comment I would make—and this is very general—is this: We don't build infrastructure for today. We build it to ensure Canada has the capacity it needs 10 years from now, in the future.

Transport committee  Is that a reference to the national trade corridors fund?

Transport committee  Okay. Port authorities have received nearly a billion dollars in funding through the national trade corridors fund. It is a great program. We would like to see it made permanent and capitalized on continuously. We would recommend some tweaks. In particular, the way the fund works right now, applicants are told when the project has been approved.