MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 6, 2022 /CNW/ - Ensuring that Canadians receive affordable goods on time is essential, especially after the last 2.5 years of the global COVID-19 pandemic. That is why the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, established the National Supply Chain Task Force earlier this year to examine the key issues affecting Canada's supply chain operations. The Task Force's mandate was to produce recommendations on how we can make our transportation supply chain stronger and Canadians' lives more affordable.
Today, Minister Alghabra welcomes the Task Force's final report and is reviewing it with great interest. The Final Report focuses on areas of action, collaboration, and transformation as overarching themes to improve Canada's supply chain. To realize real results for Canadians, a total of 21 actions have been recommended.
Highlights of recommended actions in the report include:
- Easing port congestion;
- Addressing labour shortages and employee retention;
- Establishing a federal Supply Chain Office to unify relevant federal government activities;
- Protecting corridors, border crossings, and gateways from disruption;
- Developing a national transportation Supply Chain Strategy; and
- Engaging the United States and the provinces and territories to achieve mutual recognition of regulations, policies, and processes.
The Task Force consulted extensively to gain a broad array of stakeholder perspectives on priority areas for short and longer-term actions to reduce congestion, improve reliability, and build resilience within Canada's transportation supply chain.
Strengthening our transportation supply chain in a collaborative way with our provincial and territorial partners is part of the Government of Canada's strategy to respond to the rising cost of living and to put money back in the pockets of Canadians. An efficient and resilient transportation supply chain is key to expanding Canada's economic capacity and productivity and will drive long-term growth. The Government of Canada will continue to support Canadians through investments in infrastructure and growth strategies.
Moving forward, the Government of Canada will develop a National Supply Chain Strategy. This Strategy will be informed by the recommendations included in the Task Force's final report.
"Ensuring that Canadians receive essential goods has been a top priority for our Government. Over the past several months, I've met with a range of supply chain partners and discussed challenges and strategies for public and private sector collaboration to find innovative solutions to ease congestion throughout our supply chain. We continue our work to find answers to ensure Canada's supply chain remains efficient and reliable. I also wish to thank the National Supply Chain Task Force for their efforts over the last several months. The Task Force's final report will prove invaluable as Canada develops its National Supply Chain Strategy."
The Honourable Omar Alghabra
Minister of Transport
"The Canada Border Services Agency is at the front line facilitating trade and travel in support of our economy and Canadian businesses. We will continue to work with industry partners to ensure legitimate trade flows freely across the border, while keeping Canadians safe and secure."
The Honourable Marco E.L. Mendicino
Minister of Public Safety
"We thank the Minister of Transport for the privilege to serve and having provided us an opportunity to consult with industry representatives from across the country to gain an in-depth perspective of Canada's supply chain priorities. We hope the National Supply Chain Task Force's Final Report will guide conversations and collaborations that will lead to an improved national transportation supply chain."
Jean Gattuso and Louise Yako
Co-Chairs, National Supply Chain Task Force
- On January 31, 2022, the Minister of Transport hosted a National Supply Chain Summit. The Summit brought together federal ministers, businesses, industry leaders, and associations, to discuss the challenges facing our supply chain.
- During the National Supply Chain Summit, it was announced that a National Supply Chain Task Force would be created.
- The Task Force was mandated to provide expert advice and recommendations on actions that could be taken by all levels of government and industry to improve Canada's supply chain. The Task Force released its final report on October 6, 2022.
- The Government of Canada, through the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF), is making investments that will support the flow of goods across Canada's supply chains.
- Budget 2022 provided $450 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to support supply chain projects through the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF), which will help ease the movement of goods across Canada's transportation networks. This additional funding brings the program's total allocation to more than $4.6 billion over 11 years (2017-2028).
- In 2021, international merchandise trade equalled around $1.24 trillion, a 16.8% increase from 2020 and the highest annual value of total trade on record.
- Over the past two years, the demand for consumer goods in North America has been higher than the global average by around 5 percentage points (8% as opposed to 3%), which creates more pressure than anywhere else on transportation supply chains.
- Transportation costs were a major driving force in accelerating overall price growth in 2021 and rose 7.2% compared to 2020, leading all major inflation categories. By acting on key recommendations provided by the Task Force's report, we will help reduce inflationary pressures and increase economic growth."
- Supply Chain Task Force
- January 2022 National Supply Chain Summit: What we heard report
- National Trade Corridors Fund
- Final Report of the National Supply Chain Task Force 2022
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SOURCE Transport Canada
Nadine Ramadan, Press Secretary and Communications Advisor, Office of the Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport, Ottawa, (613) 290-8656, [email protected]; Media Relations, Transport Canada, Ottawa, [email protected], 613-993-0055
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