(Ottawa) The federal Minister of Industry is due to meet at the end of the month with business leaders who are desperate for solutions to facilitate the flow of goods at the border and across the country.
Posted at 2:51 p.m.
François-Philippe Champagne agreed to meet with a consortium of business leaders and exporters, who invited the minister just before the holidays to discuss the current difficulties in supply chains.
The coalition of 18 business associations notes that many of the problems currently plaguing supply chains in Canada already existed before the pandemic, but that COVID-19 has exposed these loopholes hard.
The coalition calls on the federal government to accelerate spending on trade and transportation infrastructure, but also to coordinate with the United States and Mexico to strengthen the industrial capacity of North America, in order to reduce dependence on goods coming from overseas.
Minister Champagne said on Wednesday he is looking forward to these talks, scheduled for the end of the month. It also highlights the work underway with ports and major transit hubs to prevent bottlenecks from choking the flow of goods into Canada.
The minister also said he had held talks with the White House and the European Commission to determine where and how the Allies would source essential supplies, such as vaccines, over the coming decades.