Canadian Legislative Issues

Minister of Transport Marc Garneau opened the door for new infrastructure proposals as part of a plan to reduce bottlenecks at major ports of entry and modernize the country’s transportation network.

On July 4, 2017, he announced the National Trade Corridors Fund of $2.1 billion which invites proposals that will help modernize and make more efficient transportation and trade infrastructure in Canada. This announcement is in support of the Liberals commitment to infrastructure which they believe will help grow the Canadian economy.

Of the total amount, the fund dedicated $400 million towards transportation in the North, where there are few paved runways that limit what planes can fly in and increase the costs of everyday goods. This comes on the tail end of a recently released report by the Senate Banking, Trade, and Commerce committee which recommended the building of a National Northern Corridor which would span the length of the country.

The report recommends that, due to strained infrastructure along Canada’s southern border with the United States where 90 percent of Canadians live, the Federal Government should look at expanding northwards. Their proposal goes in-depth about a 7,000-kilometre long corridor in Canada’s North that would include roads, rail, pipelines, electrical transmission and communication networks. It would spur economic growth and develop a large portion of the country that currently sits untouched, despite research showing a vast amount of natural resources that could be extracted.

Unfortunately, the Senate Committee’s report continues to be an idea, one that the Liberals who are already strained financially are most likely not to take up. With that said, the funds allocated towards northern infrastructure could be the beginning of such an idea. The fund, in general, will most likely attract many proposals as well that will aid in making trade between Canada and its international partners, including the United States, more efficient. Furthermore, transportation within the country has the potential of benefiting should the right proposals be submitted.

NAFA members are well poised to reap the benefits of any proposal that is accepted by the Minister, as transportation regionally or internationally opens up more. New bridges, port expansions, and new roads are bound to make it into some proposals. Time will tell if Garneau makes the decisions that could play a part in allowing his government to reach its economic goals.