SPEAKING NOTES FOR
TRANSPORT MINISTER JEAN-C. LAPIERRE
AT THE PACIFIC GATEWAY
STRATEGY ANNOUNCEMENT

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
OCTOBER 21, 2005

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here today. First, I would like to thank Senator Jack Austin for that kind introduction. I would also like to welcome my colleagues, the Minister of Industry Canada, David Emerson, and the Minister for Western Economic Diversification Canada, Stephen Owen.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank Premier Gordon Campbell for being here today, along with British Columbia’s Minister of Transportation, Kevin Falcon.

The spirit of partnership that has gone into today’s announcement has truly been remarkable. I’d like to thank you all for your hard work in making this announcement a reality.

Ladies and gentlemen, not far from here, a tremendous amount of economic activity takes place where the Pacific Ocean meets our western ports. Many in the global business community have long known that these ports represent an all-important economic path into the heart of Canada.

The dynamics of global trade are changing. Today, these dynamics are driven by rapid, seamless and secure movements of goods and people around the world in global supply chains.

Human and physical capital to support these movements are concentrated in key geographic locations, also known as gateways. These gateways are the primary points where goods, services and people come into — or leave — Canada. These gateways are connected to each other and to major markets by what we call corridors.

We’ve long recognized the importance of this region as one of the most important gateways in Canada. This is where all modes of transportation — rail, road, marine and air — come together and create a world-class economic network.

But the challenges are immense. Across the Pacific Ocean, China’s economic growth has been nothing short of incredible and it’s expected to continue. While it’s currently the world’s sixth-largest economy, it’s predicted to be the second largest by 2016 and the largest by 2041.

India is also experiencing incredible growth, as are other Asian rim countries such as South Korea. These developments create tremendous opportunities and Canada simply cannot — and will not — maintain the status quo.

For a strong and prosperous 21st-century Canada, we need to continuously improve upon the infrastructure networks and labour force skills which make our economic engine run.

The Government of Canada has been very active on this front. We recently signed air bilaterals with both China and India which will ease restrictions against travel and shipping between our countries.

We also recently doubled the Port of Vancouver’s borrowing limit to $510 million to allow it to continue to make extensive investments, such as expanding its existing facilities and building new ones. And the government has also invested $30 million towards development of a container terminal at the Port of Prince Rupert.

We need the growing economic powers of the Asia-Pacific region to know what we know — that Canada is not only open for business, but that it is both the best and the first choice for business.

These changes and opportunities certainly have not been lost on Canada’s western provinces. The Government of British Columbia remains a leader in identifying and responding to the opportunities and challenges of change on the Pacific rim. The Greater Vancouver Gateway Council has pursued greater integration in the region for over a decade.

But the Government of Canada has an equally important role. That is why I’m proud to be here today with my colleagues to announce Canada’s Pacific Gateway Strategy.

The strategy, at its very base, will help keep Canada competitive in 21st century international commerce. And this strategy will show the world Canada’s commitment to diversity not only in how we embrace all cultures, but also in how we engage in trade with all markets. But above all, the Pacific Gateway Strategy is a pan-western initiative that will benefit the entire country.

Like most of you, I keep up on the news. After all, in a former life, I had a bit of a role to play in it. So it was interesting to read some of our national editorialists praising the idea, but asking where the money was.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to say that not only does this government have the vision, and not only does this government have the plan, but this government has the money as well — up to $590 million over five years to support this strategy.

Immediate investments totaling up to $190 million over the next five years include:

• Up to $125 million in transportation infrastructure;
• Up to $20 million in funding to address border management capacity including at the new container terminal at the Port of Prince Rupert, and other key points where increased trade and travel will stretch existing capacity;
• Up to $10 million for measures led by Industry Canada and the Standards Council of Canada to deepen links with the Asia-Pacific region through increased cooperation in standards-related activities and harmonization, and;
• Up to $35 million over five years for the Pacific Gateway Council and for federal departments who will be interacting with the council to make the delivery of the Pacific Gateway Strategy a success.

An additional amount of up to $400 million will be dedicated to future initiatives to develop and exploit the Pacific Gateway, including initiatives in response to recommendations of Canada’s Pacific Gateway Council.

Speaking of the Gateway Council, it will be created with headquarters in Vancouver and will provide a forum for consensus-building on the full range of issues affecting Canada’s Pacific Gateway. To that end, yesterday in the House of Commons I introduced legislation that would begin this process.

We decided on Vancouver as the headquarters, because of all the work that has been done here over the last 10 years.

The council will be inclusive. Its members will reflect important areas of expertise, such as: trade, transportation, security, labour and municipalities. It will also include representatives selected after consultations with the governments of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well.

One level of government cannot do this alone. We’ll need input from all stakeholders and we’ll seek private sector partnerships. The council will help facilitate that process.

This strategy will not only benefit British Columbia. By investing in Pacific trade, Canada’s economy will grow and Canadians everywhere stand to benefit.

For example, central and Atlantic provinces exported close to $9 billion of goods and services to Asia in 2004. These provinces also imported roughly $40 billion from that region. As for central Canada, a significant portion of Canada's imports of car components from Japan transits through British Columbia ports for assembly in Ontario.

We’re talking about more partnerships. We’re talking about more business. We’re talking about more jobs — located right here in Western Canada.

Many Canadians understand the importance of diversifying our trading network. Representatives of this government, including myself, have been around the world promoting the gateway concept. Just recently, I was in China with a Canadian delegation telling businesses just why they should do their business through the Pacific Gateway.

I reminded them that for businesses in China, the closest deep-water port and the closest major international airport in North America are located in British Columbia.

Look at the globe and you’ll see the advantage. This region is about 5,100 nautical miles from Shanghai — closer than any port in the U.S. In fact, travelling by sea, Vancouver is a full 58 hours closer to Shanghai than is Los Angeles.

Our two major railways in Canada, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, offer some of the most efficient operations in North America. Combined with our major ports, they make Canada an attractive conduit to the heart of North America. Simply put, products can get to the interior of North America more quickly and more efficiently through Canada than through the United States.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is clear. Through Canada’s Pacific Gateway Strategy, investments in multi-modal transportation infrastructure as well as in human resources, trade promotion and border facilitation will ensure that our country is both the first choice for many nations to do business, and a place to connect with the world’s fastest-growing markets.

The strategy complements the investments that this government has been making in all modes of transportation across the country and builds upon investments this government has made in the future of Western Canada.

Of course, the Pacific Gateway is not the only Canadian trade gateway. There are a limited number of other potential locations where an integrated “gateway” approach may be warranted by trade volumes of national significance and transportation policy considerations.

In that vein, Transport Canada is developing a national Gateways and Corridors Policy Framework that will guide future measures to tailor the gateway approach to other regions. While this Framework will be based on the principles of the Pacific Gateway Strategy, future measures will not be identical to it. Instead, they will be tailored to the circumstances and opportunities in the region concerned.

Initiatives are already underway in several regions to promote multi stakeholder gateway and corridor concepts. These vary in their purpose, composition, and level of development.

Canada’s Pacific Gateway Strategy is an important part of the federal government's efforts to enhance Canada’s long term prosperity. But it also does something more than that, as the prime minister pointed out in a speech to the Canada China Business Council back in January.

Mr. Martin acknowledged that the world was indeed changing, and new economic powers are rising. He pointed out that this was not a time to look inward, but to embrace change.

“We have much in common as nations,” said the prime minister. “Let us build on that connection. Let us walk through the gateway and towards the future together”.

Thank you.