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Saskatchewan’s top exporters could soon see new federal legislation to ease cross-Canada transportation concerns.
Government House Leader and Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon announced his improvement plans to the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce on Friday.
“We’re going to take heat because some people believe every single rule that’s ever been passed is sacrosanct and if we do away with it, then we’re undermining something else. That’s not true. We can do it better,” said MacKinnon.
Interprovincial transport gained attention in November with one of the world’s biggest potash producers, Nutrien, announcing plans for an export terminal in Washington.
“I didn’t make any secret at the time, and haven’t changed my mind. I’m not a big fan of that Nutrien decision. This is a product that’s mined in Saskatchewan, by Saskatchewanians, and ought to be exported from Canada by Canadians,” said MacKinnon.
“And so we’re continuing to hope that they changed their mind on that. The one thing it has done is focused us on capacity, capacity constraints, logistics constraints that may exist in Canada.”
Some other Saskatchewan companies have called for transportation improvements needed for shipping.
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“That means strong infrastructure, resilient supply chains, efficient transportation networks, labour stability that ensures our products, Canadian products, can reliably reach markets around the world,” said Canpotex Ltd. president and CEO Gordon McKenzie.
“Over the past several years, supply chain disruptions and labour instability across Canada’s rail and port networks have underscored those issues.”
McKenzie says seeking the security of having both Canadian and U.S. trade routes is a business decision.
“To make sure we’re reliable to our customer, it’s important to have options, and that’s where the U.S. has come in as a helping hand on a portion of our volume,” said McKenzie.
He worries about continuing to rely on the Port of Vancouver to export the 70 per cent of the company’s volume and its long-time operational difficulties.
“If anything were to happen there, it would be a disaster, and so that’s where our focus is,” said McKenzie.
“It’s a very increasingly competitive and uncertain world. Customers need to know Canada can deliver.”
MacKinnon says he wants to change the minds of exporters going south for trade routes.
He referenced putting an end to a ongoing review process that has lasted over a decade for what he calls the port of the prairies in Vancouver.
“Red tape has bogged down our nation-building infrastructure, leaving investment on the table,” said MacKinnon.
He says in the coming weeks legislation will come to the federal government to amend transportation laws, including the Canadian Labour Code and introducing Supply Chain Corridors.
MacKinnon has also announced $5 billion over seven years toward the Trade Diversification Corridor Fund and another billion toward the Arctic Infrastructure Fund.
“Both of those will have positive impacts right here in Saskatchewan. This will allow us to build and modernize trade-enabling transportation infrastructure across the country, including at the prairies port, which is the port of Vancouver,” said MacKinnon.
Saskatchewan Minister of Trade and Export Development Warren Kaeding said in a statement he welcomes the continued efforts to streamline trade-enabling projects across Canada.
“As a major exporting province, timely project approvals and efficient transportation corridors are critical to strengthening Canada’s competitiveness, supporting investment, and ensuring Saskatchewan products reach global markets efficiently,” said Kaeding
Following Nutrien’s announcement there have not been announcements on MacKinnon’s progress to change Nutrien’s decision.
“We both went away with some homework to do and I’m meant to check in on that homework on an ongoing basis,” said MacKinnon
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