Canada proposes millions in funding to improve supply-chain efficiency

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra last week announced a proposed CA$603.2 million investment over five years to strengthen Canada's supply chain.

Continued investments in transportation infrastructure will help ensure the nation's supply chain can meet the needs of the economy and withstand disruptions in the current global environment, Transport Canada officials said in a press release.

"Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable," the government’s 2022 budget proposal, would provide the funding starting this year. The budget includes:

• CA$450 million to support supply chain projects through the National Trade Corridors Fund, which will help ease the movement of goods across transportation networks. This amount is in addition to the CA$4.2 billion that has been allocated to the fund since 2017.

• CA$136.3 million to develop industry-driven solutions to use data to make supply chains more efficient, building on initiatives like the West Coast Supply Chain Visibility Program. Of this amount, CA$19 million will be sourced from existing resources.

• CA$16.9 million to make Canada's supply chains more competitive by cutting through red tape, including working to ensure that regulations across various modes of cargo transportation work effectively together.

The investments will complement the work of the government’s newly established National Supply Chain Task Force, which aims to make recommendations for improving the supply chain's strength and resiliency.

"The investments we are proposing in Budget 2022 will help us take decisive action now to make the supply chain more resilient, create good jobs and continue to build a strong economy,” Alghabra said.