TRAN Committee Report

Introduction

This spring, the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN Committee) continued its study on a CANADIAN TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS STRATEGY with a special focus on the transportation corridors of Quebec and Maritimes.

Transportation corridors are integral to the safe and efficient flow of goods in and out of Canada.

In a country as large as Canada, transportation plays a major role in getting our exports to the coast and our imports to their final destination.

What We Heard

The current Liberal government has imposed a carbon tax on provinces who don’t meet the Liberal’s carbon reduction standard. This tax has led to price increases and competitiveness challenges for transportation companies and providers in provinces where there is a federal carbon tax.

Adriennne O’Pray, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New Brunswick Business Council noted in her testimony to Committee on Thursday, May 16, 2019:

In New Brunswick, because the plan that was brought forward by the previous government was not accepted, it's put us into a federal backstop. We would certainly advocate for New Brunswick to have another opportunity, sooner rather than later, to bring forward an alternative plan for New Brunswick.

At this point, a carbon tax for fuel would be about a 5.5-cent increase for every litre, whereas in the other provinces it would be roughly 1 to 1.3 cents. Even within Atlantic Canada, that puts New Brunswick in the position of being uncompetitive with its neighbouring provinces.

While getting products to and from our Canadian ports is becoming more expensive due to the carbon tax, the proposed Liberal government’s Bill C-69 is threatening to make construction on port projects more uncertain and potentially more costly.

Alain Sans Cartier, Vice-President for Public Affairs and Strategic Partnerships with the Quebec Port Authority noted in his testimony on Thursday, May 16, 2019:

The Association of Canadian Port Authorities has spoken on Bill C-69. There are of course many concerns about the time limits set out in the bill. The timelines for environmental assessments are already a challenge, even though all Canadian ports are putting considerable effort and resources into minimizing environmental impacts. There are still concerns about this. The question is how to reduce delays without compromising the quality of environmental assessments. Time limits should be more reasonable and more in line with development projects.

Bill C-69 raises concerns around the whole issue of time limits. It could increase delays when the ones we have are already problematic.

During this short second part of our study we learned about the importance of the oil tanker industry to the Quebec and Maritime region. We explored what impact a tanker ban, like Bill C-48, would have on these regions of Canada. Not surprisingly, stakeholders in the shipping and port industries viewed the measures in C-48 as impractical and detrimental to the local economy.

Francois-Xavier Morency, Managing Director with Maersk Supply Service Canada Ltd. noted in his testimony on Thursday, May 16, 2019:

I think it's about how you mitigate the actions you take in shipping. It's too detrimental to the industry to stop the tanker traffic. I think these are choices we have to make. It's important for New Brunswick. It's important for Newfoundland. It's important for the east in general.

Conclusion:

This report reflects just some of the comments that stakeholders made with respect to the harmful impact the Liberal Government’s policies such as Bill C-48, Bill C-69 and the carbon tax will have on Canada’s transportation system, and more specifically, our transportation corridors.

The Government of Canada should first address policies under its direct control which are damaging to resource development, transportation, trade and investments in infrastructure.

Therefore, we make the following recommendations:

Recommendation #1:

That the Government of Canada eliminate the federal carbon tax and work cooperatively with individual provinces on their carbon reduction plan.

Recommendation #2:

That the Government of Canada withdraw Bill C-69 because it will create delays and uncertainty for proponents of projects related to transportation corridors.

Recommendation #3:

That the Government of Canada withdraw Bill C-48 because it will have a negative impact on Canada’s reputation and it is not based in science or safe navigation practices.