In 2021, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic global supply chains and shipments have slowed or come to a complete halt. The stage was set for worldwide shortages and directly affected consumer buying patterns. Raw-material shortages, factory closures, not enough truck drivers on the road, port congestion, high demand for ocean and air shipping, inadequate infrastructure — a perfect storm of chaos in the supply chains. Supply chains rely on people and equipment, and if either is in short supply, delays and increased costs are the inevitable result.
The Canadian government allocated an additional $1.9 billion over four years to recapitalize the National Trade Corridor Fund hoping it makes our supply chain more efficient with the goal of supporting the country’s economic recovery.
Ensuring that essential goods reach middle class Canadian households as quickly as possible, and that food, medicine and other critical supplies are accessible to all who need them, is the role of government. Especially in unprecedented times. Canada’s transportation supply chains have been significantly impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic and recent extreme weather events.
Today the government announced that Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, would host a National Supply Chain Summit in early 2022. The summit will bring together industry, shippers and organizations that run critical infrastructure to discuss how to better streamline Canada’s supply chain.
The ministry of transport said “The National Supply Chain Summit will serve as an opportunity to convene a broad range of supply chain stakeholders to discuss challenges, strategies, and next steps that will enable a swift recovery of Canada’s transportation supply chain.” The goal being to facilitate open discussions that allow the Government of Canada to identify ways to mitigate supply chain pressures.
Canadian Government is looking for innovative solutions
Minister Alghabra says he wants to use the summit to encourage partners to come up with innovative solutions. With the help and collaboration of thousands of workers in our ports, terminals, railway and trucking sectors, our he said supply chains are continuing to move critical goods despite challenges. The Government of Canada wants to ensure existing supply chain disruptions are addressed by strengthening our country’s transportation systems.
“The National Summit will play a critical role in helping to ensure Canadians throughout the country have better access to essential goods without adding an increased burden of cost. Through collaboration with industry partners, we have an opportunity to address constraints in our supply chains that will ensure greater reliability and efficiency.”
The Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport
The current crisis has revealed several trends that no one predicted. Initially, the spread of the pandemic led to a sharp halt in the world’s economic activity. Consumer demand fell sharply. This year, most countries returned to rapid economic growth.
The first signs of destabilization of supply chains appeared in the second half of last year. First, it seemed to be a temporary phenomenon, but the problem did not go away and, on the contrary, worsened. As a result, it expanded to a global scale.
Canadian transportation supply chains have been badly hit particularly by the COVID-19 pandemic and the floods and landslides in the Pacific Coast province of British Columbia.
