International Trade Committee on April 30th, 2024

[Jean Aubry-Morin]

I'm referring to the green shipping corridor, which is a collaborative effort between the U.S. and Canada. It's for the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes to allow collaborative effort to remove what I would call gaps and delays in the system to increase fluidity. It also allows the environmental benefit to be delivered more proficiently inside the corridor.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Pause just one second.

Can you expand on what that green shipping corridor actually means?

[Jean Aubry-Morin]

Through the COP27, the U.S. and Canada expressed interest for the marine industry to be able to work collaboratively to be able to establish the driver to put in place all of the elements of having transportation on water be able to support the growth of the economy as we go forward.

You're talking about reducing delay, using biofuel to reduce 80% of emissions from the vessels themselves, or using electrification at the port and on the shore to be able to reduce the emissions when the vessels are idle. These are typical examples that we use in the seaway system.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We'll now move on to Mr. Savard-Tremblay for six minutes.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank all the witnesses for their presentations.

My question is for Mr. Aubry‑Morin, from the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation.

As we know, in March 2023, the government announced an agreement under which your corporation will continue to manage, maintain and operate the seaway. The agreement also provides for improvements to governance mechanisms.

What needed to be improved?

[Jean Aubry-Morin]

More specifically, we need to be able to mobilize the 47 adjacent communities that are part of the seaway and use the information that they are providing.

In addition, since the corporation was set up two decades ago, we have been in contact with the first nations that are affected by various parts of the system, including the Kahnawake, Akwesasne and Mississaugas, as well as the first nations in the Welland Canal region. It's a matter of formalizing those relationships.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

The agreement was announced 13 months ago. Can you tell us what has been done since then?

[Jean Aubry-Morin]

I can give you a specific example. Consultations were held with first nations and the communities that our colleagues referred to a few moments ago on all the projects on the Welland Canal, including the electrification and implementation of a new supply chain for battery systems. We want to ensure cohesiveness, harmony and support for development in both Canada and the U.S., whether it be in terms of the environment, society or the economy.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

What has been the impact of those changes so far? The changes are quite recent, but have you noticed anything?

[Jean Aubry-Morin]

I alluded to it earlier when I said that the corporation had already met its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target set for 2030. We have reduced our GHG emissions by 58%. In fact, we're probably going to get to net zero in 2038 or 2040. This work was made possible through collaboration and information sharing with various first nations and adjacent communities. They have helped us to guide our action plans and strategies in this regard.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

A review of the seaway was undertaken prior to the agreement's renewal by Transport Canada. At that time, most stakeholders stated that the seaway would be able to accommodate higher levels of traffic.

Has there been an increase in traffic over the last few years?

[Jean Aubry-Morin]

The success of the seaway lies in its reliability, resilience and responsiveness. I was talking earlier about the geopolitical problems or challenges we face when it comes to exporting potash and grain, for example.

Yes, we are currently at 42% of capacity. Projects are under way to increase that capacity. One example I can give you is Pier 18 in Port Colborne. The investments in new infrastructure development made through the national trade corridors fund will increase transit capacity by one million tonnes. Hopefully, each of these projects in the near future will make it possible for that to happen as well.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

You talk about increasing capacity, but what impact will that have?

[Jean Aubry-Morin]

We anticipate a reduction in our environmental footprint. If these commodities and cargo were shipped by other modes of transportation, the environmental impact would be greater. Earlier, I alluded to the fact that each ship represents the equivalent of more than 1,000 trucks or 300 railway cars. So you have to imagine that, for 2,800 trips made via the seaway annually, there would be about 2.8 million trucks on a highway like the 401. Marine shipping helps reduce road congestion, which is great for the environment.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

You're mainly talking about the carbon footprint. What about the environmental impact on shorelines?

[Jean Aubry-Morin]

Shoreline erosion management is done in such a way that the entire program we are focusing on, together with the communities, the first nations and, more specifically, stakeholders within the system, will allow us to mitigate or minimize the effects of erosion. The increase in marine traffic does not create a significantly heavier environmental burden.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

You have 26 seconds remaining.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

In that case, Madam Chair, I think I'll wait for the next round of questions.

Thank you, Mr. Aubry‑Morin.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

All right.

Mr. Cannings, you have six minutes.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Thank you.

Thank you, all, for being here.

I think I'll start with Mr. Reinas from the Peace Bridge. This whole idea of the Americans wanting to scan 100% of the trucks I find very interesting, in many ways. Is this a policy that they want to institute at every border crossing, or is it just starting with major ones? You mentioned a 2026 timeline, I think.

[Ron Reinas]

The legislation is very clear. It indicates that by 2026, CBP, Customs and Border Protection, must have a plan for every truck entering the U.S., both southern border and northern border. They're phasing it in. The largest acquisition that U.S. customs has undertaken is the acquisition of non-intrusive inspection equipment. Over the last three or four years, I think it's been in excess of $1 billion. A number of southern ports have already gone 100% inspection for obvious reasons, but it is coming to the northern border. At Peace Bridge we will be the first border crossing, but it's coming to all of them.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

You mentioned that the biggest-volume truck border crossings in Canada are those bridges west of the Great Lakes. Of course, the border is just a line in the dirt, so the trucks are crossing on roads. I'm just fascinated to hear about this technology. You said this is done as the trucks are moving across the bridges. Is that correct?

[Ron Reinas]

That's correct. The new technology is called a multi-energy portal. The cab gets scanned at a low dosage, if you want to call it that, and then the trailer is at a much higher energy.

Yes, every truck can be done. It's done now at some ports. Every port has some form of X-ray equipment. What happens now is that the driver has to get out of the truck. Even at the land border crossings, for every truck going into the U.S. there's X-ray equipment. The new technology is much more efficient in terms of allowing trucks to do it at motion, at five miles per hour. When you have a port like ours, with 5,000 trucks crossing per day, it's important that we keep these trucks moving. If you go 100% with a driver having to get out, the borders come to gridlock.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Right. This phase-in will happen over the next year and a half, I assume.

[Ron Reinas]

It's happening now. Sometimes these schedules slip, as oftentimes happens, but the schedule in the legislation is 2026.