Transport committee  I'm working with commerce. I'm not aware in the area of transportation strategy. I know that the Council of Atlantic Premiers, which has existed somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50 years, has worked closely with the departments of transportation to achieve harmonization of thing

Transport committee  I would certainly agree with you that eastern Canada, Atlantic Canada, needs access to domestic supplies of oil and gas. Our thought is that it would be a boon to the economy. It would avoid the unsafe and environmentally insensitive transport by railcars. Our understanding, tho

Transport committee  Sorry, could you repeat that?

Transport committee  I am not aware, in my discussions with the chambers of commerce or any of the industries in P.E.I., that there's a significant problem. Historically, the alternative was to cross by ferry. Understandably, the ferry operation would be a more expensive and time-consuming option. No

Transport committee  The entire program for creating what's called the autoroute Claude-Béchard took a phased approach. There are certain portions of the more than 100 kilometres between Rivière-du-Loup and Edmundston that are complete and operational. Right now, though, the remaining 40-odd kilometr

Transport committee  Right now, the federal government has certainly committed—I can't remember the exact dollar figure—a significant portion of the financing costs. Simply put, the construction schedule is determined by Quebec and they have taken it on with a piecemeal approach. We think that if th

Transport committee  Certainly. I'll very quickly note that in the area of regulation, we feel that the committee should consider the unique circumstances of Newfoundland and Labrador to address the costs of ferry services and human resources. A comprehensive trucking strategy should be part of the

Transport committee  Good morning. Thank you very much for inviting the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of its 93 member chambers of commerce across the region, to participate in these consultations on the development of a Canadian transportation strategy. As an introduction, the Atlantic ch

Finance committee  I would only echo the comments. We've heard the exact same thing from our members in outreach, that the passive investment might be the most disturbing of the three proposals.

Finance committee  I have to defer. I cannot tell you that I have heard any of those rumours. I'm not sure if the local chambers would have experienced that either. Would anybody else want to comment?

Finance committee  The impact is enormous. We're talking about billions of dollars of lost GDP to the Atlantic region, and especially New Brunswick. We're very concerned that there has not been a balance established where we can get both economic growth and environmental protection. While the objec

Finance committee  It's kind of a unique circumstance. There are major projects in Newfoundland and Labrador. There's the Muskrat Falls development, a huge megaproject that is also facing a certain amount of controversy because it has run into significant cost overruns. There are environmental aspe

Finance committee  Absolutely. Across Atlantic Canada, there were several thousand letters that were sent to MPs from the 95 chambers. We would agree with you that there was a certain tenor in the way the tax proposals were presented that indicated there was not a clear understanding of exactly who

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, honourable members. We did not put in a pre-budget submission, but we plan to put one in before the end of the week. I'd like to introduce the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce. It's actually the current manifestation of an organization that start