May 09, 2019 | Category: News Releases

 

Victoria, BC – May 1, 2019 – WESTAC gathered over 100 leaders and influencers from business, labour and government involved in the Western Canadian transportation sector in Victoria this week to discuss “The Art of the Possible:  Thinking Creatively and Collaboratively about Supply Chains.”

Shippers, railways, ports and terminals, governments and labour leaders discussed ways to maximize the capacity and efficiency of our supply chains. The session aimed to meet the need of the industry in the west to understand the system as a whole – going beyond its component parts to visualize its entirety, a daunting task, that few if any have fully achieved.  As WESTAC CEO Oksana Exell notes the session, “brought together knowledgeable individuals to share their expertise about demand, capacity and connectivity – to paint a verbal picture of the system that we can’t necessarily visualize.”

Also, WESTAC was pleased to welcome three provincial Ministers to the event. Ministers in attendance included:

·       Hon. Lori Carr, Minister of Highways & Infrastructure, Government of Saskatchewan

·       Hon. Ron Schuler, Minister of Infrastructure, Government of Manitoba

·       Hon. Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Government of BC

At the Annual General Meeting on May 1, members thanked the Hon. Ron Schuler for his leadership as Board Chair over the past year, while also welcoming Hon. Claire Trevena as the new Chair. 

The meeting helped crystalize priorities emerging from the WESTAC Compass Report, including:

·       ever-present concerns about system capacity,

·       worries about Canada’s reputation as a supplier

·       apprehension that we are losing focus and momentum on systems-level thinking and strategy

Find WESTAC’s 2019 Compass Report Online https://online.flowpaper.com/77e5074d/CompassReportSurveyFinal2019LN/

As was evident during the sessions, the only way to improve capacity is to work better together. WESTAC will continue to advocate the need for effective collaboration and better utilization of the Forum and expertise in the Council. The system needs champions to preserve our competitiveness and the health of the Western Canadian economy through the nation’s most important trade corridor.