Government Issues Response to Supply Chain Report

The Government of Canada has recently given their response to the House Transport Committee’s report on “Improving Efficiency and Resiliency in Canada’s Supply Chains.” GCCA has engaged with both the House Transport Committee and the Government of Canada through this process and will continue to work with policy makers to advance cold chain priorities.

Some key recommendations relevant to the cold chain industry include:

• Rec 7: That the Government of Canada establish a long-term Supply Chain Strategy that takes into consideration the current and anticipated needs of Canadian shippers, and that such a strategy be aligned with a National Trade Strategy as well as with existing provincial and territorial strategies.
  • The Supply Chain Strategy will serve as a framework for investments in supply chain projects through the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF), as well as the launch of the Advancing Industry-Driven Digitalization of Canada Supply Chain initiative to support the collection and sharing of realtime data to make freight transportation system more efficient. These investments will improve asset/traffic management, foster resiliency, and improve coordination across modes – including ports and the rest of the marine sector.
• Rec 17: That the Government of Canada work with the United States to develop better real-time responses to urgent trans-border regulatory exemption requests in the event of future crises.
  • The extensive flooding that occurred in British Columbia (BC) in 2021 demonstrated the ability of federal departments and agencies to work together with their U.S. counterparts in the case of emergency situations. For example, TC worked with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to facilitate the movement of Canadian commercial vehicles via the U.S. when Canadian routes were blocked. TC will continue to examine lessons learned from this experience to ensure that a timely response can be achieved in the future as needed.
• Rec 19: That the Government of Canada ensure that funding for projects to improve the fluidity of supply chains consider the enhancement of perishable goods chain infrastructure, and, more broadly, the specific needs of agri-food supply chains.
  • Under the Food Policy for Canada, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) is delivering the Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF), a $60 million, five-year program aimed at community-based, not-for-profit organizations. The LFIF objective is to strengthen local food systems and to facilitate access to safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food for at-risk populations. The LFIF provides nonrepayable funding for activities that support a resilient supply chain such as the construction of greenhouses and community gardens, the purchase of equipment for the preparation, refrigeration, distribution, storage, and disposal of food, and vehicle and transport equipment. AAFC is also delivering the Food Waste Reduction Challenge to stimulate innovative business models and technologies to reduce food loss and waste throughout the supply chain and is committed to developing a No-Waste Food Fund to help all players along the food supply chain to commercialize and adopt ways to eliminate, reduce or repurpose food waste. Note: Would have like to see more here beyond the NGOs. This will be something we focus on in this month sustainable agriculture strategy submission.