Transporting project cargo and high and heavy loads from Canada’s West Coast to industrial projects such as the Oilsands in Alberta, LNG plants proposed for Northern British Columbia and biofuels plants and inland grain terminals in Saskatchewan have been the topic of much discussion between Canada’s three Western Premiers and industry stakeholders. The impetus behind these meetings has been the growth in Western Canada’s resource industries, particularly oil and grain shipments. Last year’s combination of record grain crops and a record cold winter that slowed truck and rail transportation systems and caused backups in the logistics chain were major factors that encouraged meetings between the Western provinces. Three Premiers Following a meeting November 6, 2014, the three Premiers, calling themselves “The New West Partnership”, said: “The current transportation system has served us well but is nearing its limit. What we heard today was a commitment from transporters and everyone who depends on the supply chain to work together and build capacity for long-term growth.” They said in a statement that the participants agreed on the following vision for Western Canada’s transportation industry: “An integrated and collaborative system and supply chain that stays apace with demand growth, can pivot to stay ahead of shifts in demand, prioritizes safety and environmental protection and has the right options to move goods efficiently and cost-effectively. “We heard loud and clear from the participants that we must continue to work with private sector, government and First Nations partners to ensure we have the infrastructure to support the unprecedented growth and greater trade in the Asia-Pacific region.” Included in the initiatives agreed to by the three Western Premiers were: Greater port access and capacity, including necessary road and rail improvements in the north and south of British Columbia including the removal of level crossings that impede traffic, twinning major highways and building perimeter roads in Saskatchewan to increase the flow of goods to key markets, widening major highways in Alberta, bridge improvements and twinning of major arteries to support east-west trade. “Our competitors will not wait – Canada must move quickly if we want to capture the full benefit of the opportunities in front of us. Canada must create a world-class supply chain, coordinated across all modes of transportation,” said B.C Premier Christie Clark. “With exports and inbound container traffic expected to double in the next 10 years, ensuring Canada has the best infrastructure system in the world is bigger than any one of us and continuing the dialogue that began today will be essential.” Funding The Premiers also announced that they would be approaching Ottawa for Cdn$1 billion to $1.5 billion in funding. The announcements came as good news to the Vancouver-based Project Cargo Committee that includes ports, truckers, terminals and other stakeholders in the industry. For some time the committee has been working to identify and eliminate the elements in a project cargo move that slow down the process and have found that many of the problems can be fairly easily removed, however the permitting process is particularly slow and expensive for shippers. For example, shippers of large dimensional loads are often required to carry out engineering surveys on routes and bridges that have carried similar loads previously, a practice that requires considerable time and can cost thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars. Spokesperson for the committee, Doug Mills, Port Metro Vancouver, said the permitting process in British Columbia is not as fast as it could be and at a recent meeting with the provincial government (Transport) agreed to “look at what we presented and is, at this time, looking at what can be accomplished in the short, medium and long term.” What is being considered is a common template for cargoes of similar weights and dimensions that could be used for approving all loads in a certain classification – reducing the time required to two or three days rather than weeks, and dramatically reducing the costs involved. Representatives from the group attended the Breakbulk Americas 2014 show in Houston, Texas, in early October to inform shippers of the fact that Port Metro Vancouver is the closest port to Western Canada’s growing oil and LNG, mining, biofuels and hydro-electric projects and offers big savings in driving times and costs compared to U.S. Gulf ports. He said the booth attracted considerable attention and provided the group with an opportunity to tell their story as to the steps being taken to make Canada’s West Coast a more attractive destination for project cargo and oversized loads.