Canada’s trucking industry wants the federal government to invest in better highways, improved border crossings and new smog-free trucks. In a brief to the Commons finance committee, the Canadian Trucking Alliance says Canada needs a national highway strategy to handle the growing volume of goods delivered by truck.
“While the federal government has been investing about $250 million a year in highways on an ad hoc basis, the U.S. will be investing almost C$300 billion over the next six years,” says David Bradley, chief executive officer of the CTA. “Our political leaders continue to expound upon the need to compete and capitalize on trade opportunities with the emerging Asian economies, which are making enormous investments in their highway infrastructure.”
The alliance urged the government to put a “meaningful portion” of the $6 billion it collects each year in fuel taxes into a National Highway Trust Fund. Bradley also called for a long-term, funded strategy for border crossing infrastructure and a review of the environmental process needs to be undertaken to ensure that construction actually begins within reasonable timeframes after funding announcements are made.
