The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to streamline regulations across our supply chains to make it easier to ship goods to Canadians on time.
Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced how the Government of Canada is implementing $17 million over five years through several new initiatives that streamline regulations and reduce bureaucracy across our supply chains.
This commitment of $17 million was made in Budget 2022, and will go towards several new initiatives to make sure the rail, marine, and air modes of transportation work together more seamlessly to make it easier to ship goods by:
- Amending the Canada Transportation Act to allow Transport Canada to offer digital service delivery to transportation operators across modes, saving time and money;
- Working towards a Maritime Single Window, a uniform system that would enable digital information exchange between all stakeholders regarding vessel arrivals, departures, and stays;
- Collaborating with industry to develop an approach to eliminate paperwork and shift to the use of electronic shipping documents for the transportation of dangerous goods via the road, rail, and air;
- Recognizing explosives detection dog and handlers' teams (EDDHTs) as an approved screening method to speed up the screening and movement of air cargo;
- Launching the Pre-load Air Cargo Targeting (PACT) to improve the security of air cargo through the supply chain.
Today's announcement is an early step towards addressing the recommendations identified in the National Supply Chain Task Force's final report released on October 6, 2022, particularly around modernizing transportation regulations. Together, these actions will make our supply chains moving efficiently, keep our economy competitive, and deliver essential goods to Canadians on time.
