SPEAKING NOTES FOR THE HONOURABLE
LAWRENCE CANNON
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT,
INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES
AT A SOUTHERN ONTARIO
GATEWAY COUNCIL EVENT


TORONTO, ONTARIO
DECEMBER 7, 2006

Thank you for joining us today as we launch the Southern Ontario Gateway Council. I am delighted to be here with my colleague, the Honourable Donna Cansfield, and I am proud to join her as an Honourary Co-chair of the Council.

You can count on us as strong champions of this venture. We are both here to pledge our support. But we also want to emphasize that one of the great strengths of this Gateway Council is the way in which it is led by industry. And we are very pleased that so many of the key players in the transportation sector of this region have come together to put a gateway strategy in place.

I am very impressed with the inclusiveness of the Council, which represents all modes and a key geographical region in Southern Ontario, recognized as the greater Golden Horseshoe region. I believe people simply assumed that a Council, or something similar, already existed in this region - after all, it simply makes sense. But this has not been the case. Canada's New Government is therefore proud to work with the Province of Ontario and all of you here to examine the transportation challenges and opportunities facing this region.

The logistics of moving people and goods quickly, reliably and safely has led to a concentration of talent, skills and physical capital. A few key geographic zones - gateways - are connected to one another and to major markets by corridors. Efficient transportation gateways and corridors are essential to Canada's international commerce and our long-term prosperity.

One of the remarkable developments in the creation and growth of these gateways and corridors is local leadership. We saw this a decade ago in Vancouver, where a group of interested parties got together to discuss ways to build and promote their strengths as a gateway to trade between North America and Asia.

They created a Gateway Council. They successfully enlisted the support of both the provincial and federal governments, and today we have a fully fledged Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative.

I hope you are both encouraged and inspired by what has happened on the West Coast. As part of the launch of the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, the government recognized that a limited number of regions in Canada are potential targets for an integrated “gateway” approach - based on international trade and commerce volumes of national significance and transportation policy considerations.

As a next stage, we are developing a national policy framework for strategic gateways and trade corridors that will guide future actions. A potential application of the gateway and corridor approach needs to be fully explored for the Southern Ontario region to better understand how to capitalize on its position as the biggest trade route between Canada and the United States.

The Southern Ontario region, for example, accounts for 27 per cent of Canada's Gross Domestic Product. Its economy depends on the efficient flow of people and goods. It relies upon every mode of transportation - air, road, rail, and marine. It has a very sophisticated public transit system. And all of these components can be brought together to make transportation a source of competitive strength for the economy and the region.

The Government of Canada was very pleased to join the Ontario Ministry of Transportation in co-funding the development of the Council's Strategic Plan and Economic Impact Study. In fact, we contributed $107,000 to this venture.

The results reveal both opportunities and challenges. That study has found that the Southern Ontario Gateway generates $33 billion in direct economic output. Add the multiplier effect of spin-off economic activity, and you have a contribution of $57 billion in economic output for the Ontario economy.

We know that government alone cannot provide all of the answers as we face these challenges. We need to work together. Strengthening Canada's economy for the long term is a priority for Canada's New Government - we know that the foundation of our economic strength is infrastructure.

Two weeks ago, the Minister of Finance announced Advantage Canada, a long-term, national economic plan. It outlines many ways in which we can build upon the strengths of Canada's economy, including a recognition that the infrastructure that provides gateways to foreign markets is especially important to Canada's economic growth and prosperity.

The Government of Canada has made substantial investments in this country's infrastructure. In Budget 2006, we committed $16.5 billion of federal support for infrastructure over the next four years. That is an unprecedented amount. It includes:

• $1.3 billion in new funding for Public Transit;
• an additional $6.6 billion in new funding for infrastructure as well as $591 million for the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative; and
• maintaining current funding under existing infrastructure agreements, such as gas tax funding agreements worth $5 billion over five years.

The private sector is also coming to the table. Businesses in this region, for example, are expected to invest over $1.3 billion over the next year on gateway-related activity and infrastructure. This is very promising. It is a good sign for the future of this region.

I am looking forward to working with my colleague, Donna Cansfield, on the elements that fall within the sphere of government. And I am eager to work with all of you as we move forward.

Thank you.