International Trade committee  With respect to containers, it will increase from 125,000 to 330,000.

International Trade committee  The way it works is that we have our local short-line that connects to CN and then connects over to other short-lines and into other rail lines like Pan Am, Norfolk Southern, CSX, lines like that, and of course, Canadian Pacific.

International Trade committee  That's right. I think the biggest issue again is the cross-border inspections, building on beyond the border.

International Trade committee  Well, right now we're primarily an export port. The imports are starting to go this way, but absolutely, the goal with our new operator in particular is that we're looking at those different marketplaces.

International Trade committee  That's right.

International Trade committee  When we examined our business case for the federal and provincial governments to consider, we talked about competition in the markets we tend to focus on. We feel that the amount of cargo that moves into Canada via U.S. ports provides a unique opportunity for us. We have strong p

International Trade committee  On the first question of diversity, there's no doubt about it that the marine industry seems to be the slower mode of transportation, whether it comes to technology, changing of routings, or things of that nature. I would suggest the marine industry has a way to go to have much b

International Trade committee  In the two areas you have raised, I think it is positive. It creates opportunity, opportunity creates growth, and growth is going to cause people to think about their career choices. That would cover all groups, including under-represented groups in New Brunswick. This is good. I

International Trade committee  In Saint John, in our port, it's a business increase. I think there are studies which show that for every 1,000 increase in the number of containers in a port, it equates to about one full-time job directly at the port, but I think the real answer is more tied to the increase in

International Trade committee  There are a couple of things. One is that in reviewing the TPP and the elements that affect marine mode, customs is one that crosses modes of transportation. There's discussion about streamlining the processes and procedures, which is a good thing the more we get the rules right

International Trade committee  Yes, in fact the modernization is going to greatly enhance that. For example, we're going from a depth alongside at low water—and I emphasize low water because as you probably know, we have an eight and a half metre tide twice a day here—of 12.2 metres, and that will be going to

International Trade committee  Most of the traffic that's containerized is by truck, and we're working hard to make that into an intermodal type of trade, which is essential. We're equipped for that because of those rail connections that I talked about earlier.

International Trade committee  It's immensely important because our producers and our shippers and receivers are located throughout the province. If I had a map of New Brunswick, you would see dots throughout the province to show those who do business through the port, and that business is moved by truck. It's

International Trade committee  That's a very good question, because in fact we're getting ready. Through our modernization, we're going to be moving our capacity from about 125,000 20-foot equivalent units—TEUs are an international standard for containers: 20 feet long, 8 feet wide, 8 feet high—to 330,000. We

International Trade committee  We do. We had some independent studies done, and they looked at that. They're estimating that the current jobs that are directly related to the container business from what we do today, about 500 jobs—that's direct and indirect—will more than double as we approach that capacity.