Resources

WESTAC and the Global Institute of Logistics were pleased to welcome nearly 100 senior delegates to participate in Transportation Summit 2011: Best Practices Shaping Global Logistics. The Summit explored best practices and benchmarking in cargo supply chains from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia based on a series of thought panels. Two workshops were held on the Service Guarantee (Marca De Garantia) and the development and use of Container Terminal Quality Indicators.

There has been much debate about the impact of the Panama Canal expansion project on global trade patterns and on port traffic in North America. Some view the expansion will have a significant negative impact on West Coast ports in North America.

The Semi-Annual Meeting held October 19 and 20 in Calgary brought many Members and special guests together to discuss building supply chain competitiveness.

The Council seeks to provide members with opportunities to meet with leaders in some aspect of transportation. The Deputy Minister stated an interest to get out regularly to meet with stakeholders and maintain an open line of communications.

The Annual Meeting held April 29 & 30 in Regina again brought together excellent speakers, industry experts and ideas for the future. The meeting was well attended with over 60 members and guests participating. The overwhelming indication from speakers and members is that we are on the road to recovery but it may be bumpy. Demand for Canadian exports is rising, as is domestic demand. Traffic volumes are up significantly over the very poor levels of last year.

The Semi-Annual Meeting held November 5 & 6 in Vancouver offered a variety of perspectives and information to help members as we move forward into 2010. The meeting was well attended, with more than 60 members participating. This has been a year of extremes and some of the upsets and changes are permanent, altering how we do things in Western Canada.

There are two major market-based policy options available to governments looking to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions1: carbon tax, and cap-and-trade.

Beginning on July 1, 2010, BC will introduce a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The HST combines the GST and PST into a single, value-added sales tax. What does this mean for transportation?

The Annual Meeting held April 28 and 29 in Edmonton was well attended, with more than 50 members participating. Hon. Luke Ouellette graciously hosted the event at Government House, a great venue for dialogue.

Transport Canada and its provincial partners have undertaken a National Commodity Flow, Trade and Traffic Forecasting project, to better understand the freight movement infrastructure needs of the future. The conference emphasized the freight movements from and through Western Canada. It rolled out the preliminary forecasts generated by IHS Global Insight. The forecasts covered the period from 2008 to 2026, and included the full spectrum of commodities carried by all modes, including airfreight. The purpose was to discuss the outlook for freight demand and answer the question: can Western Canada’s transportation system handle it?