Earlier this month former President & CEO and Co-chair of the National Supply Chain Task Force, Louise Yako, along with fellow Co-chair Jean Gattuso announced details of the Final Report of the National Supply Chain Task Force 2022.
The Task Force's mandate was to produce recommendations on how to make Canada’s transportation supply chain stronger and quality of life more affordable by reducing congestion, improving reliability, and building resilience. The report outlines eight long-term strategic recommendations along with a number of immediate and urgent actions to improve supply chain efficiency and relieve labour shortages in the transportation and trucking sectors.
Recommendations in the report include:
Labour shortages:
- Continued support and, if possible, expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program on an urgent basis as it applies to workers in the transportation supply chain.
- In collaboration with provinces/territories, implement programs and policies that encourage the attraction and retention of drivers.
Capacity constraints and infrastructure:
- Complete the twinning of Highway 185, which connects Quebec to New Brunswick. Completion of this project will improve efficiency by creating a link between two portions of the highway that are open to long combination vehicles.
Borders:
- Reopen FAST card enrollment centres and/or consider novel ways to expedite applications.
- Expand Canadian Food Inspection Agency and other government department services required to process commercial goods at ports, land border crossings and airports to offer 24/7 services as needed.
Governance shifts:
- Protect corridors, border crossings and gateways from disruptions to ensure unfettered access for commercial transportation modes and continuity of supply chain movement.
- Engage the U.S. and the provinces/ territories to achieve reciprocal recognition of regulations, policies and processes to enhance supply chain competitiveness and productivity.
The full report can be found here.
Moving forward, the Government of Canada will develop a National Supply Chain Strategy. This Strategy will be informed by the recommendations included in the Task Force’s final report.
For the Transport Canada news release, visit their website.