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Keynote speech for the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, to a University of Calgary / Van Horne Institute luncheon

CALGARY, ALBERTA
January 26, 2012

Thank you for that introduction.

It's a pleasure to be here this afternoon to discuss the future of Canada's transportation system.

This is certainly the right forum. Transport Canada has been a proud member of the Van Horne Institute for many years and we've had numerous opportunities to work together.

And of course the Van Horne Institute at the University of Calgary is renowned for its longstanding work with respect to transportation in Canada.

I was pleased to learn that the roundtable held last November was a great success. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend. However, I want to applaud you for the high quality of your background papers as well as for your informed discussions.

Your session generated new and interesting ideas on how to ensure the transportation sector is well-positioned for the future.

In particular, I note that there was productive and insightful discussion on considerations for national transportation policy, funding mechanisms to support future infrastructure needs and ways to boost innovation and make Canada's transportation system more competitive.

These issues, along with many others discussed during the roundtable, are of keen interest to me and my department as we chart our future direction, particularly as we look to review the Canada Transportation Act by 2015.

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to talk to you about the future and how our government is working with its partners—including those of you here today—to build a transportation system that drives economic growth, creates jobs and positions Canada more competitively on the world stage.

To that end, I'll discuss three ways our government is working with its partners to accomplish those goals.

But before we begin, I want to read a quote from the Right Honourable David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who spoke to Parliament in September.

He said: "There is a strong argument that the 21^st century could well be the Canadian century."

Now, he followed that sentence up by saying "in the last few years, Canada has got every major decision right."

You may not be surprised to learn I completely agree with that second sentence! So, I'll just let it stand on its own.

But I do want to talk about the first part because it relates to today's discussion.

Mr. Cameron is correct of course, but more than believing it "could well" be the Canadian century, I'm convinced this will be the Canadian century.

It will be the Canadian century because our government is making the right decisions.

It will be our century because Canada's finances are in better shape than most countries, and we're well-positioned for the future.

And it will be our century because Canadians have always had the fortitude and determination to turn vision into reality.

But to get there, we must ensure our foundation is strong, our policies are right and our direction is clear.

This includes having a modern transportation system that supports our present strength and future potential.

We know this is true because transportation has always been identified with opportunity in Canada.

It connects us as Canadians: it connects workers with jobs, travellers with destinations, and products with markets.

But today we stand at a critical transition point as we face new challenges both nationally and globally such as:

• the emergence of integrated supply chains;
• the rise of developing economies;
• shifts in demographic composition;
• increased concerns about security and safety;
• environmental impacts as a result of economic growth; and
• the current global economic environment.

Canada's future prosperity will depend to a significant degree on how effectively we're able to respond to these global pressures.

And we are working from a foundation of significant strength such as our wealth of natural resources, which are in high demand around the world.

That's why having a transportation system that facilitates the efficient and reliable movement of people and goods—one that meets the challenges posed by these pressures—is vital.

There have been a number of ideas on how to do this—and the November roundtable provided even more— but I'd like to suggest three that will be key to our success.

First, we must get our economic house in order.

This is something our government recognized immediately upon entering office and we continue to understand today as we redouble our efforts to deal with global economic fluctuations that are often beyond our control.

It's why, when the first signs of economic downturn appeared on the horizon, we made unprecedented investments in Canada's infrastructure, expanded Canada's trade networks and established a foundation for economic growth.

This included the introduction of our government's Canada's Economic Action Plan, which also included streamlining our regulatory process and investments in infrastructure, to help boost job creation and strengthen our trading capacity.

On May 2^nd, 2011, our government received a strong mandate from Canadians to keep taxes low, and continue to add to the 600,000 jobs created for all Canadians since July 2009.

Let me be perfectly clear: we're not out of the woods yet and there are numerous challenges on the horizon.

Yet our efforts so far have placed us in a much better position than other countries.

From a transportation and infrastructure perspective, ensuring our fiscal house is in order is imperative because it allows us a greater degree of flexibility when it comes to making policy and investment choices.

To build an effective transportation system for the future, the second area to focus on is to recognize emerging trends and opportunities in order to adapt our systems and policies to capitalize on them.

When we speak about opportunities in the global economy, we speak about the rise of new economies, such as Brazil, India, China and Russia.

The bottom line is that they represent potential markets for Canadian businesses, potential economic expansion, and potential jobs for Canadian workers.

Take China for example.

Currently, China is Canada's second-largest two-way trading partner after the United States. It's a relationship that is growing rapidly in economic importance. As you know, Prime Minister Harper will be visiting China next month as part of our government's overall effort to deepen economic ties, open new markets, and set the foundation for long-term growth.

Alberta's trading relationship with China has more than tripled since 2003, making China Alberta's second-largest trading partner.

In the last two years, Alberta has seen a surge of Chinese investment in the energy sector while other natural resource exports have also continued to grow.

To put it simply, Alberta has what China needs.

It's a similar story with respect to India, and other emerging economies.

But all of this opportunity is for naught if we don't have a transportation system to support it.

Because while these emerging economies represent potential, they are also challenges to the way we've traditionally linked transportation to trade in Canada.

The good news is that Canada has long recognized this fact and we continue to modernize our systems and policies to ensure we develop our transportation system accordingly—a process that has included the valuable input of groups such as yours.

A prime example is the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor, our transportation network that brings together all of the key transportation, labour, and logistics providers across our supply chains.

To support the gateway, our government has partnered with all four Western provinces, municipalities and the private sector to announce strategic infrastructure projects worth more than $3.5 billion dollars, including federal contributions of $1.4 billion dollars.

We're applying some of the lessons learned about aligning systems and maximizing efficiencies to other key gateways and corridors in Canada, including our critical trade links with the United States.

Over the past decade, our government, together with provincial and territorial partners, has committed over $4 billion dollars for border-related infrastructure projects.

These are projects designed to maximize efficiency at the border and further strengthen our key gateways and corridors.

As you are all aware, in December, Prime Minister Harper and U.S. President Obama announced the Action Plan on Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness.

It contains 32 initiatives covering four themes:

• addressing threats early;
• trade facilitation, economic growth, and jobs;
• integrated cross-border law enforcement; and
• critical infrastructure and cyber security.

The Action Plan is not a final agreement on the border, but rather the beginning of joint efforts to better manage the border over the next few years. I am confident that it will facilitate trade and travel between Canada and the United States, and significantly improve border efficiency and security for both countries.

Although strategic investments and partnerships are important, these alone are not sufficient to achieve the progress we need.

Our approach must also consider use of the right policy and regulatory tools.

We see this in our recent work to improve the rail freight supply chain, which also helps to strengthen Canada's gateways and corridors.

Last November, I announced the appointment of Jim Dinning to lead the facilitation process that is a key part of the measures the Government of Canada announced in March to respond to the Rail Freight Service Review.

The process brings together shippers, railways, and other stakeholders to develop a template service agreement and a streamlined commercial dispute resolution process.

To support these commercial measures, I also committed to table a bill once the facilitation process is complete.

This will give shippers the right to service agreements with the railways and provide a process to establish such agreements when commercial negotiations fail.

I also announced our government is leading an analysis of the grain supply chain systems so that we can focus on issues that affect the sector and identify possible solutions.

This study will take into consideration the new free marketing and sale environment for wheat, durum and barley grown in Western Canada that will be in place for crop year 2012.

These important changes show we're committed to building a transportation system that responds to Canada's 21^st-century needs.

Ladies and gentlemen, there's a common thread woven through all of this work: instead of isolation, we want integration.

It means the days of each transportation mode operating in isolation from one another are over: all must work in concert to truly boost our competitiveness.

A more comprehensive systems approach to transportation will better position us to address emerging challenges, including how to boost productivity gains within the sector, which have tailed off in recent years, and how to close the innovation gap relative to our trading partners and competitors.

And that brings me to my third and final point about building a transportation system that meets Canada's 21^st-century transportation needs.

While we're busy integrating modes and systems, we must also continue to strengthen our commitment to partnership and collaboration.

Our government has focused on this since we first entered office.

Our track record shows we've reached across traditional jurisdictional boundaries to find solutions to not only transportation, but also to the infrastructure that supports it.

For too long, private industry has been ignored when it came to discussing solutions. We're changing that.

We're going to continue this approach as we move forward with the next phase of Canada's Economic Action Plan and the long-term infrastructure planning process.

And we're going to continue working with groups such as the University of Calgary and the Van Horne Institute to hear from academics and subject matter experts.

This is no time for exclusion. Not as we find ourselves in a time of challenge and transition.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, it is by getting our economic house in order, identifying opportunities and providing the system to capture those opportunities, and strengthening our partnerships that we will ensure Canada's transportation system will not only meet our current needs, but also drive economic growth and position Canada more competitively on the world stage.

I look forward to working with all of you to help seize that potential, helping to ensure that the 21^st century indeed will belong to Canada.

Thank you.

Date modified:

2012-01-26

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