Transport committee  Indeed, you're absolutely correct, it's an issue that we've considered very carefully and seriously over the years, because it has been raised by various interests, not just the port authorities but those that use the ports and those that benefit from the cargo that is either imported or exported from the ports.

Transport committee  If we are talking about the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes—in some cases, goods that move through the St. Lawrence in fact move through the Great Lakes, as you know—the market has different dimensions. I will begin by answering your question on which ports might benefit.

Transport committee  Some use the term “cabotage”, but it has different connotations. Let us talk instead about short sea shipping. There are people assessing the potential of the Great Lakes, where there is a huge market for container transport, for example. St. Lawrence seaway officials, together with various ports in Quebec and Ontario, are assessing the possibility of perhaps one day transporting containers.

Transport committee  Sure, I would be quite pleased to. I guess there are a couple of elements in your question, and I'll deal with them systematically. First of all, with respect to access to contribution funding for these capital projects—and we have singled out specific areas, no doubt—we would expect port authorities to work in conjunction with other parties--provinces, municipalities, third parties, terminal operators, railways, logistics providers.

Transport committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, honourable members of the committee. I'm very pleased to make a presentation to this committee on the proposed amendments to the Canada Marine Act as contained in Bill C-23. This suite of amendments recognizes the underlying importance of marine transportation to the Canadian economy.