Massive infrastructure investments are needed in Prince Rupert to allow that northern British Columbia commodity port to fully use its capacity as a future hub of container traffic, the president of Prince Rupert Grain Ltd. told senators last week.
Jeff Burghardt told the Senate committee on transport and communication Feb. 13 that the potential of Prince Rupert should be developed before massive investment goes into the congested Port of Vancouver.
Canada needs a “bold vision” to prepare the West Coast to be a gateway for container traffic flowing both ways between Asia and the centre of North America, he said.
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“There is tremendous underutilization within the northern corridor and the Port of Prince Rupert,” he told the committee that has been studying the future potential of shipping by container.
“The infrastructure investment that is required for it to take on a significant share of container traffic is certainly a lot less than what is required in the Port of Vancouver and that must not be lost.”
A private and public investment of close to $2 billion would be required, including federal investment in marine infrastructure including berthing facilities.
“If we look to utilizing the excess capacity that exists on the northern line, you will add value to goods as they enter the country as well as when they leave the country if you try to take advantage of that existing excess capacity before we necessarily consider all investment in Vancouver,” said Burghardt. “So Canada needs to be thinking broadly in terms of facilitating that northern investment and at the end of it, I believe that you can accomplish it with less taxpayer dollars having to be spent.”
He told senators that Prince Rupert will handle five million tonnes of grain or 35 percent of shipments out of west coast ports this year, none of it in containers.
He said the terminal offers customers some advantage.
“We offer the lowest rail freight structure,” he said. “We offer the lowest rates for terminal throughput handling and conditioning of grain of any west coast facility.”
As well, he said Prince Rupert Grain has better labour relations than Vancouver because it has scrapped the hiring system still in use in Vancouver and negotiates directly with employees rather than being part of the west coast employer association that conducts industry wide negotiations.
However, he said some changes must be made if private investment in west coast facilities is to be realized.
High on the list is better and more reliable railway service. While Canadian National Railway has been doing better since November, Canada has a reputation for railway unreliability, said the terminal executive.
“If we are to move containers effectively into the heartland of North America, shipping companies from overseas will demand higher performance from our railways.”
He said labour relations and inefficiencies in the hiring practices still in use by many employers will have to be reformed.
And Burghardt proposed that the port authorities of Vancouver and Prince Rupert be amalgamated to allow more efficient co-operation between the two ports.
He said he has operated Prince Rupert Grain for 15 years.
“I believe, and I have to be careful how I express myself in this small community, that the Prince Rupert Port Authority is well-meaning but they are not skilled enough to be the world-class container operator, the world-class port group by operating onto themselves. They could do well by inviting the expertise of larger people and larger participants.”
He said a more professional port authority “could facilitate some of this commercial privatization effort even faster.”
