No. GC007/07
For release - February 15, 2007
Photo(s)

Canada's New Government Delivers the Environmental Goods On Freight Transportation

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, QUEBEC — The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced that Canada's New Government is launching the ecoFREIGHT program-a series of initiatives, totalling up to $61 million in funding, aimed at reducing the environmental and health effects of freight transportation.

"Canada's New Government encourages the freight industry to join the effort as we all have a role to play in the reduction of emissions from transportation sources, and the development of cleaner transportation systems, practices and technologies," said Minister Cannon.

"Initiatives like these are a part of this government's ambitious and realistic agenda to protect our environment and the health of Canadians, as well as to promote economic growth," said the Honourable John Baird, Minister of the Environment. "We will continue to take real action to protect the health of Canadians and the environment by helping make freight transportation more environmentally friendly."

The ecoFREIGHT program is made up of six initiatives, two of which specifically focus on the trucking industry, through the removal of regulatory barriers and the reduction of fuel use and emissions.

"The greatest source of untapped energy is the energy we waste, and when we cut waste, we cut emissions and we cut costs," said the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources. "We are helping trucking companies and other vehicle fleets reduce their fuel consumption, increasing their efficiency and reducing harmful emissions at the same time."

The other initiatives target all four modes of transportation (air, rail, road and marine), as well as users of the freight system by establishing a Freight Technology Demonstration Fund, providing cost-shared funding, building and maintaining partnerships and demonstrating the potential of shore-based power.

These initiatives support the Government's ecoTRANSPORT Strategy, which is aimed at improving the health of Canadians and the environment by reducing the environmental impacts of transportation; securing Canada's future prosperity and competitiveness by making critical transportation infrastructure sustainable, both economically and environmentally; and promoting an efficient transportation system that supports choice and the high quality of life that Canadians expect.

Prime Minister Harper recently announced the Canada ecoTrust for Clean Air and Climate Change, which will be designed to provide financial support to provincial and territorial projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants. The resources for this initiative will consist of $1.5 billion of new funding on a national basis. As part of this new Canada ecoTrust, Canada's New Government has already announced its intention to provide Quebec with $349.9 million in funding as recognition of its leadership to protect Canadians from the consequences of climate change.

This new funding will be contained in the upcoming budget and is a part of the actions to be taken on the fiscal imbalance. It will be available as soon as Parliament approves the budget.

A backgrounder and fact sheet on the ecoFREIGHT program are attached.

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BACKGROUNDER

ECOFREIGHT--MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINING
A CLEAN, HEALTHY TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

Canada's thriving economy relies heavily on its transportation system to move people and goods quickly and efficiently. But transportation is also one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases and air pollution in Canada--key factors that affect the health of Canadians and our planet.

As part of its environmental agenda, Canada's New Government is launching the ecoTRANSPORT Strategy. Complemented by existing regulatory actions, this program features ecoFREIGHT--a new step to reduce the environmental and health effects of freight transportation.

Federal investment in this up to $61-million program consists of six initiatives aimed at:

1. Removing regulatory barriers so that the Canadian trucking industry can embrace emissions-reducing technologies by collaborating with provinces and territories;
2. Reducing fuel use and emissions in commercial and institutional fleets via training, sharing of best practices, anti-idling campaigns, technical analysis to look for potential improvements and other technological opportunities;
3. Establishing a Freight Technology Demonstration Fund to test and measure new and underused freight transportation technologies in real-world conditions;
4. Providing cost-shared funding to companies and non-profit associations in freight transportation to help them to adopt proven emission-reducing technologies;
5. Building and maintaining partnerships within the transportation sector to reduce emissions from freight transportation through fast and flexible voluntary actions that can support the regulatory framework; and
6. Demonstrating the potential of shore-based power for marine vessels in Canadian ports to reduce air pollution from idling ship engines in some of Canada's largest urban centres.

The ecoFREIGHT program builds on the major-infrastructure investments that Canada's New Government announced in Budget 2006, and other measures, such as regulating emissions from rail and marine transportation and fuel consumption of new light duty vehicles, announced in the fall. These measures are part of Canada's New Government's ambitious and realistic agenda to protect the health of Canadians and the environment in Canada and demonstrate that Canada's New Government understands the importance of addressing climate change.

Want to know more about the Government of Canada's environmental agenda and the ecoFREIGHT Program? Visit us online at www.tc.gc.ca/ecoTRANSPORT.

February 2007

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FACT SHEET

ECOFREIGHT

As part of its environmental agenda, Canada's New Government is launching the ecoTRANSPORT Strategy. This strategy features the ecoFREIGHT Program--a new step to reduce the environmental and health effects of freight transportation.

ecoFREIGHT--Meeting the challenge of sustaining a clean, healthy transportation system

Federal investment of up to $61 million over four years in this program consists of six initiatives, two of which specifically target the trucking industry:

1. National Harmonization Initiative for the Trucking Industry: With up to $6 million, this initiative from Transport Canada is designed to identify solutions with respect to national and provincial requirements that create barriers for the trucking industry to adopt currently available technologies to reduce emissions. This work will be done in partnership with the provinces and territories.
2. ecoENERGY for Fleets: With up to $22 million, this initiative from Natural Resources Canada will focus on reducing fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions in commercial and institutional fleets through training and education, sharing of best practices, anti-idling campaigns, technical analysis and evaluations to identify opportunities for improvements, and other technology activities.

   The other initiatives address all four modes of transportation (air, rail, road and marine), as well as users of the freight system:

3. Freight Technology Demonstration Fund: With up to $10 million, this Transport Canada initiative will provide cost-shared funding to companies in the air, rail, road and marine modes in order to test and measure the environmental and operational performance of new and underutilized freight transportation technologies. Industry partners will measure and report on results such as the fuel saved; the emissions reduced; the technology purchase, installation and training costs; and the impacts on operations, equipment and maintenance.
4. Freight Technology Incentives: With up to $10 million, this Transport Canada initiative will mitigate financial barriers to the adoption of new and under-utilized technologies, many of which currently have an initial cost premium that makes the initial financial outlay or the length of the payback period difficult. Under the program, cost-shared funding will be provided to companies and non-profit associations in all modes of the freight transportation industry for the purchase and installation of proven emission-reducing technologies.
5. Partnerships on Freight: With up to $7 million, this Transport Canada initiative will bring together a range of partners within the freight transportation sector to reduce emissions from freight transportation (road, rail, aviation and marine). Transport Canada will enhance its partnerships with other countries in international forums while developing partnerships with users of the freight system. These partnerships will complement the broad environmental regulatory agenda, setting targets and action plans for emission reduction in the short term in areas not suitable for regulation or before regulations take effect in 2011.
6. Marine Shore Power Program: With up to $6 million, this Transport Canada initiative will support up to four pilot projects for the installation and use of shore-based power for marine vessels in Canadian ports. With this technology, marine vessel operators would have the option to connect their vessels directly to a shore power source while in port. Many vessels are already equipped to take advantage of shore power where it is available. As no Canadian ports currently offer this service commercially, ships must idle their engines, or use diesel engine generators, in order to meet their on-board energy requirements while in port. This technology will improve local air quality by reducing air pollution from ships in some of Canada's largest urban centres.

Transportation is a key element of the government's environmental agenda. Keeping people and goods moving is vital to a strong economy and is critical to Canada's prosperity. A more sustainable transportation system will result in safety, social and economic benefits for all Canadians.

For more information on the ecoFREIGHT program, please visit Transport Canada's website at www.tc.gc.ca/ecoTRANSPORT.

For more information on ecoENERGY Initiatives, please visit: http://ecoaction.gc.ca/index-eng.cfm or call 1-800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232), Teletypewriter 1-800-926-9105

February 2007