Madame Chair, Senators, good morning and welcome to Vancouver.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you about the Vancouver Port Authority.

Canada has an unprecedented opportunity to capture trade for the benefit of all Canadians and the Port of Vancouver is key to realizing that opportunity. But we, together with our partners and stakeholders, need to move with focus and urgency.

Id like to focus my presentation today on some of the initiatives we have put in place to manage the supply chain, maximize the efficiency of the Port of Vancouver, and attract investment in important transportation infrastructure in the interest of realizing this opportunity.

I would also like to make some recommendations for the improvement of Canadas transportation network, using our experience in Vancouver as a starting point.

To put my perspectives in context, let me start by sharing with you an overview of the Port of Vancouver.

Communities in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia have grown up around the Port of Vancouver, which has been operating in one capacity or another since 1864 more than 140 years.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada, spanning 237 km of shoreline stretching from Point Roberts through the Burrard Inlet to Port Moody and Indian arm, and adjoining eight municipalities.

And as you know, the pending integration of the three Lower Mainland Port Authorities will enable the new port to become even more competitive, providing additional tools to enhance trade through this gateway.

At present, however, the Port of Vancouver is Canada's busiest deep-sea port and ranks number one in North America for total foreign export tonnage, alone handling 25% fully one-quarter of our nation's total foreign waterborne trade.

We estimate that in 2006 we handled approximately 80 million tonnes of cargo around 80% of that total was either bulk or breakbulk cargo such as coal, grain, sulphur, potash, lumber and wood pulp.

The Port of Vancouver has one of the highest container handling growth rates on the West Coast of North America. In 2006, our container volumes increased by around 25% over 2005 and we handled approximately 2.2 million TEUs for the year.

We are serviced by three Class One railways CN, CPR, and BNSF and offer virtually no draft restrictions, post-Panamax capacity and extensive on-dock rail facilities.

We also welcome nearly one million passengers each year as the home port for the popular Vancouver-Alaska cruise.

In administering the land and water comprising the Port of Vancouver, the VPAs mission is to be a leader in the growth of cargo and passengers though Canada's Pacific Gateway in the best interest of Canadians. In doing this we are guided by our values, which are: customers, environment, financial health, people and reputation.

Our business objectives are to:

- Improve the reliability, performance and competitiveness of the supply chain.
- Ensure the sustainability of the Port of Vancouver.
- Coordinate the expansion of throughput capacity in the Pacific Gateway.

Our business objectives recognize that ports no longer assume the sole role of landlord, that they have a responsibility to earn the social license to conduct business, and that our core business is to facilitate trade growth for the benefit of all Canadians.

We are working toward making the Port of Vancouver a model of economic, environmental and social sustainability.

There are several factors that are critical to our success in meeting our business objectives, and Id like to use these to frame my presentation this morning:

- National service provider accountability
- Continued government investment
- Social license
- Partnerships
- Regulatory certainty, and
- Port integration

As mentioned earlier, the Port of Vancouver supply chain accommodated the transport of approximately 80 million tonnes of cargo last year, which is a record over 2005 levels.

This is tremendous news, however, our trade growth does not come without some challenges to the overall supply chain.

The supply chain requires efficient connections of vessels, terminals, rail and trucks. As experienced in the recent rail dispute, a break in the connection of railway operations to the network has caused significant challenges to operations that have created a ripple effect across the supply chain. Furthermore, disruptions like this harm the Ports and the nations reputation as a reliable and efficient Gateway for international trade.

Today, the VPA is demonstrating its leadership in the Gateway by actively responding to the operational, environmental and social challenges we are facing in the Gateway.

In addition to our terminal expansion activities, we are taking an end-to-end perspective of the supply chain. The VPA is implementing Transportation Logistics Program Initiative that is made up of three core elements noted here.

As part of the Program we are undertaking studies of the three main rail corridors servicing the Port of Vancouver network. We actively participated in the Transport Canada study of the Roberts Bank Rail Corridor to develop a road/rail improvement plan to facilitate long-term trade growth.

We are also making it a priority to develop measuring and monitoring capability to provide better indicators of imminent operating challenges. This will involve an expansion of our electronic Supply Chain Dashboard tool to capture and report on operational data.

The Port also continues to be a leader in the development and deployment of Port security programs over the past 5 years and is currently implementing the final year of the initiative.

We are also working to reduce port-related air emissions through our Integrated Air Emissions Reduction Program by developing local activity-based emissions inventories to establish appropriate benchmarks for tracking progress of port-related air emissions.

Our current Truck Licensing System also includes provisions for truck safety inspections and AirCare On Road testing to ensure the safe operation of commercial trucks on our roads.

Our customers are looking for end-to-end solutions. They want to know their cargo is moving quickly, efficiently and reliably from origin to destination. They want to know that every step in the chain from shipping lines, to terminal operations, to labour, to railways and trucks is integrated and optimized.

As the bulk and container sectors grow, they strain existing infrastructure and impinge on each other. With everyones attention focused on the container sector, lets clarify that bulk exporters have been, and will continue to be, the major customers of the ports and railways.

When considering infrastructure development, we need to focus on the impact that all growth has on the entire supply chain. Its very important to realize that the need for reliability in the supply chain crosses all sectors, and touches all regions of our nation.

There's no sense building new port terminals in Vancouver, in Prince Rupert, in Halifax, or anywhere else in our great nation if we don't have the road and rail links to move Canadian exports quickly and efficiently to our gateways, or import cargo quickly and efficiently inland to its final destination. Whether its bulk, break bulk or containerized cargo, everything moves on- and off-dock by either road or rail. These are the essential ingredients for the efficient transport of goods into and out of our country.

Canada needs a National Transportation Policy a framework for monitoring and reviewing performance across the transportation network to ensure that a system is in place to effectively meet the nations long-term trade objectives.

As an example of the direction we should consider, the United States Surface Transportation Board announced public hearings that will take place in April to examine issues related to railroad traffic forecasts and infrastructure requirements.

The STB will conduct the public hearing as a forum for interested persons to provide views and information about: rail-freight traffic forecasts; the extent of capacity constraints and the ability of railroads to meet rising demand; the infrastructure investment needed to ensure that the Nation's freight-rail system continues to operate in an efficient and reliable manner; possible solutions to the challenges presented by growing rail traffic and limited capacity; and the potential role of public-private partnerships and innovative financing tools in meeting these challenges.

Information gathered will be used to determine whether current plans and investments are adequate to meet rail capacity demands, and, if not, what new policies and strategies need to be implemented.

This type of scrutiny and policy determination strategy should be employed across Canadas supply chain as part of a national policy.

The VPA and port stakeholders appreciate and are encouraged by continued government support through investment in the transportation network.

The Federal governments Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative investment of 591-million-dollars is a great start. But at the Vancouver Port Authority, we believe that as welcome and as important and as timely as this investment is, Canada is billions of dollars behind in transportation infrastructure development.

This is not a criticism of government: it is simply a fact.

The time has come to think of a major transportation route in and out of the Lower Mainland. We have an opportunity now, with the infrastructure funding promised in the last budget, to significantly grow the rail corridor from Mission to Delta. Work with the railroads, the Port and others to build this corridor not for the present, and not for the next 10 years, but a corridor that will handle the traffic for 25 to 30 years to even 40 years.

Government investment is key to leveraging efforts towards the streamlining of processes, particularly where railways are the beneficiaries of the investment. The federal governments financial commitment toward grade separation packages along the Roberts Bank Rail Corridor as part of the Asia-Pacific Gateway & Corridor Initiative is an excellent example.

We must integrate social, economic and environmental sustainability into our everyday actions and commitments. These three aspects of sustainability are intertwined and indivisible.

Governments and transportation decision-makers must lead by promoting responsible, sustainable growth solutions.

Business decisions must include provision for healthy residents, thriving communities and profitable companies.

New transportation infrastructure must serve industry needs but it also has to ease community traffic congestion, protect air quality, decrease rail level grade crossings and minimize habitat disruption. In bringing the Pacific Gateway to life we must realize that our ability to operate, now and in the future, depends on the social license we earn in our operating communities. Earning that social license means we have to identify and manage our investment in a way that better serves industry stakeholders and society. It means supporting our partners in industry and government to find creative solutions to challenges associated with rapid growth.

Ultimately, the opportunities and the challenges of Asia-Pacific trade belong to all of us to business, to communities and to governments. Its our responsibility to work together, in a manner that's consistent with the values and priorities of all Canadians, to develop solutions to sustainable growth while adding value to the Canadian economy.

The federal Roberts Bank Rail Corridor infrastructure improvement program, as part of the Asia-Pacific Gateway & Corridor Initiative, is a current example of a successful initiative that involves funding participation from levels of government, communities and industry. Similar partnerships must be expanded into other key transportation corridors.

This was successful because the operating model (i.e., the Line Haul Carrier being able to access the destination terminal directly) is sound and in place. All critical rail corridors, including South Shore VPA, North Shore VPA, and the emerging Intermodal hubs on the Fraser River should be developed and invested in with the understanding that the open model for port areas is most desirable, most effective, and most conducive to the port business.

The transportation industry in Canada, and the port system in particular, needs planning consistency and certainty, for itself and its customers, in order to inject massive investment dollars and resources into infrastructure development. Governments must find a way to speed regulatory and environmental processes while still maintaining rigor and accountability.

Industry needs process clarity. In the case of billion dollar investments, like a new port terminal for instance, private foreign investment plays an enormously significant role. And investors do not want to tie up their resources on a slow road to maybe.

In China late last year, I was surprised to hear of a transportation conference, in India, where one of the topics under discussion was The Problem With Canadas Transportation System. I issue a challenge to government to reverse this thinking. Work with your colleagues in the approving agencies to ensure a process that takes into account the commercial needs of this country.

An important facet of the Asia Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative is the pending integration of British Columbias three Lower Mainland port authorities - Fraser River, North Fraser and Vancouver.

Integration will allow the combined ports to compete more effectively for a larger share of the expected increase in Asia-Pacific container traffic to North American ports, which is expected to triple over the next 15 years.

Integration also represents a tremendous opportunity to combine the expertise and resources of each organization in support of a more coordinated approach to port development, land use, environmental programs, transportation and marketing.

One voice and one operating model will also simplify understanding for our target audience overseas and represents an opportunity to reduce the number of variables that can impede our ports, such as rail operating agreements and land development obstacles.

The amalgamated authority will have a significant economic impact for Canada, providing a combined total of approximately 53,000 direct jobs and 1.6 billion dollars in wages, as well as contributing around 6.3 billion dollars to GDP. Its jurisdiction will touch upon 17 municipalities stretching up the Fraser River to Maple Ridge.

Working together to achieve the growth targets set out by the B.C. government in its B.C. Ports Strategy, we have the opportunity to contribute an additional $6.6 billion in economic output to the Canadian economy by 2020.

At the VPA, we believe this will strengthen the entire Port Community and we look forward to implementing the integration with our partners at the Fraser River and North Fraser authorities.

The success of Canadas Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative will depend on the continued resolve and commitment of Canadian governments and Canadian industry and labour.

We must move now, decisively and strategically. Its tremendously important that our overseas trading partners understand that Canada's government leaders are fully committed to do what is required to expand bi-lateral trade with Asia.

We need to have complete clarity on government commitments around the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, on national transportation policy, and on any new or extended infrastructure development investments.

To achieve our goals, we need:

- A National Transportation Policy to ensure service provider accountability
- Continued government investment across the supply chain
- Strict attention to the development of social license and sustainability
- Strong government-community-industry partnerships
- Regulatory certainty, and
- Port integration

The Port of Vancouver operates in the midst of Western Canada's largest urban centre.

It is our obligation to operate and grow our business in a way that meets public expectations for environmental and social performance. This requires collaboration between government and the private sector.

As Canadas flagship port, we are committed to balancing economic, environmental and social sustainability in a meaningful way to benefit our customers and communities and to support our national mandate.

Thank you.


For more information, please contact:

Anne McMullin,
Director, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
Vancouver Port Authority
(604) 665-9069 (office)
(604) 665-9073 (fax)
(604) 218-1403 (cellular)
anne.mcmullin@portvancouver.com

For more information:
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Or, send an email to:
public_affairs@portvancouver.com