Transport committee  Good morning, Chair and members. Thank you for inviting me to present before the transport, infrastructure and communities committee. I am thrilled to be here in Niagara Falls, located so close to the Welland Canal, a key component of a bigger national transportation corridor,

Transport committee  I have two points, if I may. First of all, let me just say we've left a copy with each of you of the March study that I was referencing—that's the blue document. That really demonstrates clearly, I think, that the entire marine corridor is a key driver of activity in Ontario and

Transport committee  It's not but it should. I'd certainly be very keen to participate in some more of those discussions. Just look at western Canadian exports, which neither turn left and go out over the very difficult and expensive Rocky Mountains route—and we're hearing all about the problems with

Transport committee  I was speaking to the Ontario government's Minister of Transport about this. If you look at the demand for transportation services in Ontario and at the supply of infrastructure available, and you talk about the roads, you'd have to make huge investments in expanding the highway

Transport committee  Thank you. You're asking about capacity, better utilization given that we have a big chunk of capacity available. Let me answer that a few ways. Jim already eloquently spoke to the icebreaking need. He's right on message there. That's a big issue. Both fleets on both sides of

Transport committee  Those are my main points.

Transport committee  I will answer in English, if I may. Perhaps Mr. Ruhl could better answer the question in terms of whether we have lost business per se. Certainly this spring was a great example, where we were so slow getting going because of heavy ice and not having the capability of icebreaki

Transport committee  Sure. Let me first say from an infrastructure perspective that our shipowners invest over $2 billion in ship assets. That's a mobile piece of infrastructure—

Transport committee  Right, and I think we also very much need to secure marine's fair share of infrastructure investment on the ground end. We talk a lot about port infrastructure. The seaway I think is in pretty good shape, to be honest. They've done a great job. They've just brought in hands-free

Transport committee  That's a good question. I don't have a view on that. If some money is needed to accomplish what Jim was talking about, that probably would be helpful. In terms of numbers of dollars, I haven't got a figure for you. We can get back to you on that.

Transport committee  Those are two great questions. I would say, in fact, that our costs are lower. Don't forget that a single vessel carries 30,000 tonnes, or up to 30,000 tonnes, so the efficiencies that are driven from that are huge. That translates right down to prices that people like Mr. Ruhl

Transport committee  It's an excellent question. The short answer is yes. Keep in mind that, despite the context that 25% of the problem of greenhouse gas emissions lies with transport, and a majority of that by far is from roads from either personal auto use or trucks, maybe 2% to 3% is marine. Th

Transport committee  Mr. Liepert, you're from Alberta but that would be a great speech here in Ontario too.

Transport committee  Good evening. I'm Bruce Burrows, president of the Chamber of Marine Commerce.

Transport committee  I would like to add, and maybe just pick up on a point. In our discussion, I had mentioned the International Maritime Organization in London, and the need to have a level playing field for emissions. It was a bit of a passing comment and I didn't elaborate, but now that we have a