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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:
- Removing regulatory barriers so that the Canadian trucking industry can
embrace emissions-reducing technologies by collaborating with provinces and
territories;
- 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;
- Establishing a Freight Technology Demonstration Fund to test and measure
new and underused freight transportation technologies in real-world
conditions;
- Providing cost-shared funding to companies and non-profit associations
in freight transportation to help them to adopt proven emission-reducing
technologies;
- 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
- 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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