OTTAWA, ON – The federal 2017 budget includes new transportation initiatives including a National Trade Corridors Fund that is meant to address capacity constraints and freight bottlenecks at major ports of entry, in addition to improving connections between rail and highway infrastructure.

The National Trade Corridors Fund is set to receive $2 billion over 11 years from the federal government to support its activities. In addition, the budget mentions an additional $5 billion will be supplied through the Canada Infrastructure Bank to focus on trade and transportation priorities.

Also revealed in the budget was an allocation of $50 million over 11 years to launch a trade and Transportation Information System to support a new Canadian Centre on Transportation Data. According to the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), there isn’t a lot of national data regarding the movement of goods, and an investment in something like a Trade and Transportation Information System should improve the current situation.

Regulations for the safe adoption of connected and autonomous vehicles was also announced by the government. According to the CTA, the introduction of connected and autonomous vehicles is an important and prominent issue for transportation companies and stakeholders and the alliance says the topic will be the focus of roundtables with its board member being held later this month.

The CTA was disappointed excise tax rebates for the freight transportation sector weren’t reintroduced, a move the CTA was calling for and will be contacting the Minister’s office to address.

The 2017 budget also featured amendments to the Canada Labour Code, allowing federally regulated employees the right to request flexible work arrangements. The CTA has displayed concern to the federal government about the potential repercussions this legislation would have on the trucking industry.

The Temporary Foreign Workers Program also saw changes, as it was suggested further work had to be done to produce pathways from the program to permanent residency status, a move the CTA has previously recommended to the federal government.