This House of Commons committee meeting was part of a study on supporting, diversifying and modernizing Quebec and Canada's ports. Witnesses included Derrick Hynes from the National Maritime Group, Eric Harvey from the Railway Association of Canada, Atul Sharma from the Toronto Port Authority, John Grech from Picton Terminals, and Lorna Campbell from the Port of Sydney Development Corporation.
Derrick Hynes argued that the status quo in Canada's transportation infrastructure is no longer acceptable, citing 60 work stoppages in two years and calling for urgent action on labour productivity, technology, and supply chain connectivity. He recommended implementing the Industrial Inquiry Commission report's proposals for geographic certification of unions on the west coast and a special mediator to pause strikes during bargaining, as well as exempting the longshoring industry from mandated paid leave or reducing it to five days, and allowing employers to request medical certification for sick leave abuse. He also urged digitizing CBSA customs processes, requiring electronic documentation, and improving port authority transparency on rent rates, borrowing, and community consultation.
Eric Harvey emphasized that Canada's rail network is strong and privately funded, with $4.5 billion reinvested last year, but warned that additional port capacity is needed to support trade diversification beyond the U.S. He called for accelerating project approvals by focusing on substance over process, citing grain-handling inefficiencies at the Port of Vancouver during rain as a simple fix that could increase capacity by 7%. He also recommended expanding the productivity superdeduction for all sectors to match U.S. incentives, implementing the Industrial Inquiry Commission's recommendations to avoid fragmented bargaining, and enabling binding arbitration to protect the national interest during disputes, while noting that rail capacity is available but targeted investments will be needed if export volumes double.
Atul Sharma noted that the Toronto Port Authority is the only Canada port authority that also owns an airport, and highlighted its role in importing over two million metric tons of bulk materials annually while eliminating roughly 51,000 trucks from roads. He recommended that the federal government protect employment lands, address aging infrastructure nearly 100 years old, and simplify the approval process for port borrowing limits, which currently requires months of coordination across multiple departments. He also stressed the need for timely federal appointments to port authority boards and suggested that the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation work with cruise lines to design ships that can access the Great Lakes through the Welland Canal.
John Grech described Picton Terminals as a privately owned deepwater facility that has invested over $50 million since 2014 and is forecast to handle over 500,000 metric tons in 2026, but argued that Canada underutilizes its Great Lakes-St. Lawrence marine system. He recommended targeted federal investment to expand marine infrastructure at underutilized facilities like Picton, treating them equally to Canada port authorities, and timely designation and support from the Canada Border Services Agency to enable container processing, noting that CBSA has rebuffed offers to cover the cost of agents. He disagreed with the current concentration of container flows through a limited number of gateway ports, arguing that expanding the network to nodes like Picton would reduce congestion on Highway 401 and improve supply chain efficiency.
Lorna Campbell explained that Sydney Harbour is a federally owned public port with no single local authority, and that critical infrastructure gaps persist because revenues from port activity are not reinvested locally. She recommended enabling management agreement models for locally governed harbour authorities, providing barrier-free transitional funding for strategic investments, and recognizing rail and intermodal connectivity as core components of port modernization. She noted that the port has opportunities in offshore wind, critical minerals, and defence, but that without governance reform, infrastructure investments lack coordination and long-term sustainability.
The committee also debated several motions. Xavier Barsalou-Duval moved two motions: one requesting the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Montreal Port Authority provide the financing agreement, risk analyses, and profitability assumptions for the Contrecœur terminal loan, and another inviting former Port of Montreal executives to testify. The committee agreed to debate the second motion immediately and defer the first to a later meeting. Dan Albas moved a motion to invite B'nai Brith to testify on challenges facing Canadian airports, which was deferred for further discussion. Dan Muys gave verbal notice of a motion calling for the suspension of federal fuel taxes and elimination of the clean fuel standard and industrial carbon tax. Philip Lawrence moved a motion ordering the Canada Infrastructure Bank to provide unredacted repayment terms for a loan to the Mersey River Wind project within 72 hours, with a summons for the CEO if not complied with.
AI-generated summary — may contain errors; verify against the official evidence.