International Trade committee  We've responded to the government's open consultation on section 106. I'll say we've welcomed the review. We've made some suggestions. We've suggested some questions for the two co-chairs doing the review to look at. My concern is a little bit with the size and scope of what they're looking at.

International Trade committee  Good morning, Madam Chair and honourable members. Thanks for having me back again today. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the country's largest business association, with an active network of over 400 chambers of commerce and boards of trade representing nearly 200,000 businesses of all sizes in all sectors and regions of our country.

International Trade committee  Our west coast is Canada's largest gateway to the world, handling over 800 million dollars' worth of cargo, from agri-food and potash to critical minerals and household necessities, every single day. That accounts for a quarter of Canada's total trade. This summer we saw over 35 days of uncertainty and disruptions to our west coast gateways, including Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Prince Rupert, which caused major delays for Canadian businesses in virtually every sector across the country.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Good morning, honourable members. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the country's largest business association, with an active network of over 400 chambers of commerce and boards of trade, representing nearly 200,000 businesses of all sizes and in all sectors and regions of our country.

Transport committee  I cited a StatsCan report. For those who haven't had the chance to take a look at it, I would suggest it is a worthwhile read. There is a significant number of businesses that still identify supply chains as a crisis. It was along the lines of nearly a quarter of Canadian businesses surveyed that said supply chains are still an issue.

Transport committee  That's correct.

Transport committee  Yes. As I mentioned, we're seeing, from where things were at the height of the pandemic to now, that there has definitely been an improvement, but it still remains a challenge for the current and foreseeable future.

Transport committee  I think you have another example in the neighbouring province in terms of another inland port that has actually done a very good job at being able to help facilitate trade within Canada. In terms of the inland port piece, again, I think the faster we get goods onto rail or onto trucks and moving away from the ports, the better.

Transport committee  Granted, I'll point to the government's Indo-Pacific strategy as a prime example of why we need to be focusing on some of these issues. At the end of the day in order for us to re-engage with the region and in order for us to increase trade with the region, without building general infrastructure here in Canada, we won't be able to do that.

Transport committee  Absolutely. Again, done right, regulation can be our competitive advantage. Tying that into the last question, if we are to take a look at and figure out how we can regulate smarter, that can be a competitive advantage for us in Canada versus anybody else.

Transport committee  Yes. At the end of the day, when regulation is not serving the public interest, we start asking questions. Unfortunately, there are a few issues with that right now.

Transport committee  There's a lot in that statement.

Transport committee  Definitely, what we saw in terms of the commitment to regulatory alignment was not new. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and our members talk about accelerating the regulatory modernization process, and I think there's already a commitment from government to move on this agenda.

Transport committee  Absolutely. Really, Canada has an infrastructure deficit. That's probably been said to this committee once or twice. At the end of the day, the national trade corridors fund is supporting good projects that are able to support increasing our supply chains and their reliability.

Transport committee  I've had conversations with regard to putting an economic lens to federal regulators, and I would see that as a suggestion to alleviate issues. We have issues now and we're looking to solve them. Obviously we can't solve these things overnight, but how do we work together? How do we look at the economic benefit of what we're looking at in addition to other pieces, like the environment, sustainability, etc.?