Dear Member,
As you may be aware, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra is hosting a National Supply Chain Summit on January 31 to solicit stakeholder views on how to address the challenges that Canada’s transportation system and supply chain are currently facing.
Minister Alghabra will be joined by a number of other Ministers, including International Trade Minister Mary Ng; Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne; Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough; and Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. Fifty-six organizations have been invited to take part in the summit, the majority of which are associations representing a wide variety of industry sectors, including importers, exporters, shippers, commodity producers, terminal operators, ports, carriers and others. The Federation will be participating on behalf of its members.
The summit will be organized around three key questions: 1) What are the most critical challenges or barriers facing Canada’s supply chain efficiency and resiliency that warrant priority action; 2) How can we better leverage investments in transportation infrastructure for improved performance outcomes and supply chain resiliency; and 3) What are the opportunities for new collaboration, innovation and digitization to optimize existing infrastructure, increase capacity and improve system performance.
We look forward to participating in this event, as it provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the essential role that ocean ships play in moving Canada’s world trade even in the most challenging conditions, and the extent to which the current state of the supply chain is due to a pandemic-fueled surge in demand for imported goods that is temporary in nature.
We will be sure to provide members with a report on the event, including a summary of discussions, outcomes and next steps.
Sincerely,
Karen Kancens
Vice President