(China's) NAFTA Super Highway . . Alive & Well in 2013!

(China's) NAFTA Super Highway . . Alive & Well in 2013!

Postby Oscar » Wed Aug 02, 2006 9:38 am

TRANSPORTATION: Agrivision and the NAFTA Super Highway

Please see the background information below regarding what we believe to be a huge transportation network, from Mexico to Winnipeg, through Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC to Prince Rupert, Gateway to Asia.

Thus, all the excitement for Saskatchewan to cash in on the sorting and dispatching of containers on their way through.

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Excerpt from Agrivision's July 24, 2006 Weekly Update:

Shoot or Shut Up
C.M. (Red) Williams, President
Saskatchewan Agrivision Corporation Inc.
(www.agrivision.ca)

Some may think that Saskatchewan Agrivision is a little off-the-rails by setting in motion discussions on an Inland Port in Saskatchewan. After all it is a huge concept and what do we know about railways and container traffic anyway? Let me tell you why I think that if we don’t move aggressively in upgrading our transportation system, we lose big time!

Ocean container traffic has all but eliminated other forms of shipment other than some bulk products like coal and bauxite but even this will decrease. In the process, container ships have become larger and larger to compete and cut costs. To remain efficient they must spend most of their time at sea, which means loading and unloading in as close to 24 hours as possible. That requires a port large enough to meet the time demand, equipped with large cranes and served by just-in-time truck and rail connections. Canada doesn’t currently have one of these large capacity ports. Vancouver is choking on its present traffic and has little room to expand despite the Pacific Gateway initiative underway. We are proposing to investigate John Vickerman’s proposal of an Inland Port in Saskatchewan in order to pull a significant amount of the sorting, stuffing and redirecting away from the coast. In effect, significantly expanding Vancouver’s capacity.

But suppose we ignore the realities and chug along patching and mending the current system. Hundreds of ports around the world didn’t make the timely changes and have permanently lost out in the race for large container ship landings. With that go the land transportation and all the developments built on the global trade. If Saskatchewan Agrivision is wrong, we need to find a better answer very soon because time is short. In the terms of the culture of earlier times, when facing challenges, we must “shoot or shut up”.

C.M. (Red) Williams, President
Saskatchewan Agrivision Corporation Inc. (www.agrivision.ca)

==================================

2.2 Transportation - Inland Port

SAC is in the final stages of signing an ageement with TranSystems, a transportation infrastructure company in the U.S., to provide a business case for an inland port in Saskatchewan. The result of the work would be a presentation to potential investors to determine the interest in moving forward with the concept.

(End of excerpt from Agrivision's Weekly)

==============================
Some background Information:

Transystems

http://www.transystems.com/aboutUs.asp

Transportation infrastructure and facilities - that's our focus. From infrastructure and facility design to computer simulation and economic impact analysis to finding alternative financing solutions for transportation projects - we do it. Our transportation specialists, located in offices across the nation, are unparalleled in the knowledge of the movement of freight and people, and unmatched in technical and managerial services. We provide full-scale professional services to both public- and private-sector transportation clients.

"At every turn, our goal is to add value by converting our client's transportation challenges into economic benefit. To accomplish this, we are students of our client's operational environment -- we listen to their needs and objectives, and we provide a solution-oriented team with profound industry experience."
- Brian Larson, CEO

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Bush Administration Quietly Plans NAFTA Super Highway

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15497

by Jerome R. Corsi Posted Jun 12, 2006

Quietly but systematically, the Bush Administration is advancing the plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the Mexican border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of Duluth, Minn.

Once complete, the new road will allow containers from the Far East to enter the United States through the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas, bypassing the Longshoreman’s Union in the process. The Mexican trucks, without the involvement of the Teamsters Union, will drive on what will be the nation’s most modern highway straight into the heart of America. The Mexican trucks will cross border in FAST lanes, checked only electronically by the new “SENTRI” system. The first customs stop will be a Mexican customs office in Kansas City, their new Smart Port complex, a facility being built for Mexico at a cost of $3 million to the U.S. taxpayers in Kansas City.

As incredible as this plan may seem to some readers, the first Trans-Texas Corridor segment of the NAFTA Super Highway is ready to begin construction next year. Various U.S. government agencies, dozens of state agencies, and scores of private NGOs (non-governmental organizations) have been working behind the scenes to create the NAFTA Super Highway, despite the lack of comment on the plan by President Bush. The American public is largely asleep to this key piece of the coming “North American Union” that government planners in the new trilateral region of United States, Canada and Mexico are about to drive into reality.

Just examine the following websites to get a feel for the magnitude of NAFTA Super Highway planning that has been going on without any new congressional legislation directly authorizing the construction of the planned international corridor through the center of the country.

NASCO, the North America SuperCorridor Coalition Inc., is a “non-profit organization dedicated to developing the world’s first international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system along the International Mid-Continent Trade and Transportation Corridor to improve both the trade competitiveness and quality of life in North America.” Where does that sentence say anything about the USA? Still, NASCO has received $2.5 million in earmarks from the U.S. Department of Transportation to plan the NAFTA Super Highway as a 10-lane limited-access road (five lanes in each direction) plus passenger and freight rail lines running alongside pipelines laid for oil and natural gas. One glance at the map of the NAFTA Super Highway on the front page of the NASCO website will make clear that the design is to connect Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. into one transportation system.

Kansas City SmartPort Inc. is an “investor based organization supported by the public and private sector” to create the key hub on the NAFTA Super Highway. At the Kansas City SmartPort, the containers from the Far East can be transferred to trucks going east and west, dramatically reducing the ground transportation time dropping the containers off in Los Angeles or Long Beach involves for most of the country. A brochure on the SmartPort website describes the plan in glowing terms: “For those who live in Kansas City, the idea of receiving containers nonstop from the Far East by way of Mexico may sound unlikely, but later this month that seemingly far-fetched notion will become a reality.”

The U.S. government has housed within the Department of Commerce (DOC) an “SPP office” that is dedicated to organizing the many working groups laboring within the executive branches of the U.S., Mexico and Canada to create the regulatory reality for the Security and Prosperity Partnership. The SPP agreement was signed by Bush, President Vicente Fox, and then-Prime Minister Paul Martin in Waco, Tex., on March 23, 2005. According to the DOC website, a U.S.-Mexico Joint Working Committee on Transportation Planning has finalized a plan such that “(m)ethods for detecting bottlenecks on the U.S.-Mexico border will be developed and low cost/high impact projects identified in bottleneck studies will be constructed or implemented.” The report notes that new SENTRI travel lanes on the Mexican border will be constructed this year. The border at Laredo should be reduced to an electronic speed bump for the Mexican trucks containing goods from the Far East to enter the U.S. on their way to the Kansas City SmartPort.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is overseeing the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) as the first leg of the NAFTA Super Highway. A 4,000-page environmental impact statement has already been completed and public hearings are scheduled for five weeks, beginning next month, in July 2006. The billions involved will be provided by a foreign company, Cintra Concessions de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A. of Spain. As a consequence, the TTC will be privately operated, leased to the Cintra consortium to be operated as a toll-road.

The details of the NAFTA Super Highway are hidden in plan view. Still, Bush has not given speeches to bring the NAFTA Super Highway plans to the full attention of the American public. Missing in the move toward creating a North American Union is the robust public debate that preceded the decision to form the European Union. All this may be for calculated political reasons on the part of the Bush Administration.

A good reason Bush does not want to secure the border with Mexico may be that the administration is trying to create express lanes for Mexican trucks to bring containers with cheap Far East goods into the heart of the U.S., all without the involvement of any U.S. union workers on the docks or in the trucks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2006 HUMAN EVENTS. All Rights Reserved.

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North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, Inc (NASCO)

http://www.nascocorridor.com/pages/abou ... tm#defined

About NASCO is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing the world’s first international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system along the International Mid-Continent Trade and Transportation Corridor to improve both the trade competitiveness and quality of life in North America.

NASCO is not a government agency. We have no authority to build or develop anything unilaterally. NASCO will work with our members, state Departments of Transportation and federal and local agencies involved in transportation, trade and security to accomplish our mission.

The NASCO Corridor encompasses Interstate Highways 35, 29 and 94, and the significant east/west connectors to those highways in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Corridor directly impacts the continental trade flow of North America. Membership includes public and private sector entities along the Corridor in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

From the largest border crossing in North America (The Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Canada), to the second largest border crossing of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, extending to the deep water Ports of Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico and to Manitoba, Canada, the impressive, tri-national NASCO membership truly reflects the international scope of the Corridor and the regions it impacts.

NASCO has officially amalgamated with the former North American International Trade Corridor Partnership, which was a non profit organization in Mexico dedicated to economic development and improving trade relations through the heartland of America to Canada and Mexico. NASCO and the NAITCP have worked together successfully in the past, and now, with the amalgamation, will operate as one organization under the name NASCO, with a shared mission and objectives.

The North American Inland Port Network (NAIPN), a sub-committee of NASCO, has been tasked with developing an active inland port network along our corridor to specifically alleviate congestion at maritime ports and our nation’s borders. The NAIPN envisions an integrated, efficient and secure network of inland ports specializing in the transportation of containerized cargo in North America. The main guiding principal of the NAIPN is to develop logistics systems that enhance global security, but at the same time do not impede the cost-effective and efficient flow of goods.

NASCO has received $2.25 million in Congressional earmarks to be administered by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) for the development of a technology integration and tracking project. The project will have a team approach, using members of NASCO as the primary participants in the project, to the extent possible. NASCO believes the deployment of a modern information system will reduce the cost, improve the efficiency, reduce trade-related congestion, and enhance security of cross-border and corridor information, trade and traffic.

SuperCorridor & NAFTA Highway Defined

SuperCorridor - not "Super-sized". As defined in Webster's dictionary, "Super" means "more inclusive than a specialized category". NASCO uses the term "SuperCorridor" to demonstrate we are more than just a highway coalition. NASCO works to develop key relationships along the EXISTING corridors we represent to maximize economic development opportunities along the NASCO Corridor, as well as coordinate the development of technology integration projects, inland ports, environmental initiatives, university research, and the sharing of "best practices". NASCO is particularly focused on coordinating the efforts of local, state and federal agencies and the private sector to integrate and secure a multimodal transportation system along the existing "NASCO Corridor."

"NAFTA Superhighway" - As of late, there has been much media attention given to the "new, proposed NAFTA Superhighway". NASCO and the cities, counties, states and provinces along our existing Interstate Highways 35/29/94 (the NASCO Corridor) have been referring to I-35 as the 'NAFTA Superhighway' for many years, as I-35 already carries a substantial amount of international trade with Mexico, the United States and Canada. There are no plans to build a new NAFTA Superhighway - it exists today as I-35.

==================================

SASKATCHEWAN CALLS FOR ACTION ON TRANSPORTATION STRATEGY

htttp://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/ ... -1129.html

Legislative Building - Regina, Canada S4S 0B3 - (306) 787-6281

News Release December 9, 2005 Highways and Transportation - 1129

The Council of the Federation's national transportation strategy provides a
blueprint for renewal of Canada's transportations system and underlines the need for a new partnership with the federal government, according to the provincial government.

"For Canada to succeed in the world marketplace, we need to build and maintain a modern transportation system - one that is safe, secure and supportive to the global trading network," Premier Lorne Calvert said. "The first step in achieving this goal is a renewed partnership with the federal government."

Premier Calvert was commenting on today's release of the Council of the
Federation's national transportation strategy document, Looking to the Future: A Plan for Investing in Canada's Transportation System. The strategy proposes a new transportation funding partnership, identifies a strategic transportation network, describes preliminary provincial and territorial priorities and recommends changes to the policy framework. The strategy identifies $97 billion in capital investment priorities, to be delivered over the next decade. Strategic priorities in Saskatchewan include the twinning of Highway 11 between Saskatoon and Prince Albert and the construction of bypasses around Regina and Saskatoon, objectives that could be achieved within 10 years with a renewed partnership with the federal government. Further priorities include the completion of twinning of Highway 1 and Highway 16 between the Battlefords and Lloydminister, currently targeted for 2007.

"Creating a transportation system that is truly integrated and multi-modal is key to ensuring Canada and Saskatchewan's competitiveness in the global marketplace and generating economic development," Calvert said. "For this reason, my government will continue to provide leadership on infrastructure renewal both at home and nationally."

Transportation is a key contributor to economic development both nationally and provincially. Saskatchewan's economy in particular is heavily reliant on an integrated and efficient transportation system, with export generating approximately two-thirds of provincial GDP.

"For jurisdictions to move forward on the priorities identified in the
strategy, a similar commitment from the federal government is required,"
Highways and Transportation Minister Eldon Lautermilch said. "A revitalized partnership with the federal government on the national transportation system would free up resources for provinces to pursue priorities of a more regional or local nature, like upgrading transportation corridors that support our provincial economy and ensures the safety of our citizens."

The Council of the Federation is comprised of all 13 provincial and
territorial premiers. It enables premiers to work collaboratively to
strengthen the Canadian federation by fostering a constructive relationship
among the provinces and territories, and with the federal government.

To learn more and obtain a copy of the strategy document, visit
www.councilofthefederation.ca.

For More Information, Contact:

Doug Wakabayashi
Highways and Transportation
Regina
Phone: (306) 787-4804

============================================
A Vision for the Future

http://www.rupertport.com/development.htm

Significant changes in world trade patterns have shifted the focus of the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PPRA) and have already resulted in new initiatives, including a cruise and container port. Significant opportunities for industrial development mark the next phase in development potential at the port.Ridley Island is but one available property with enormous potential for development. Other properties include South Kaien, Coast, and Lelu Islands. All together, these properties represent almost 1000 hectares of land available for development.Prospective uses include liquid bulk transfer terminals with tank farm capability, barge terminals with heavy lift capability, and an expanded use of Ridley Terminals Inc. to other products and uses. Possible projects include and sulfur export facility, the Enbridge Pipeline "Gateway," an LNG import facility, a crude oil trans-shipment facility, the Alaska / Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline, offshore oil & gas related projects, major industrial projects in an industrial park, such as refining and smelting.The advantages Prince Rupert offers, including a deep, safe, harbour, and sites far from urban areas make these types of projects feasible.Today, Prince Rupert is Canada's second largest West Coast port. As North America's closest port to Asia, it is situated on the shortest land/sea route to the US Midwest. It is linked by rail to Canada's West and East coasts and the Southern Gulf coast, and through affiliates to Mexico, offering seamless access to three NAFTA nations.

Don Krusel, President & CEO

Prince Rupert Port Authority
Last edited by Oscar on Mon Apr 29, 2013 5:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Open Meeting on Inland Port

Postby Oscar » Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:25 pm

From Saskatchewan Agrivision's Monday Morning memo - December 11, 2006

Open Meeting on Inland Port

SAC has confirmed a keynote speaker to make a presentation on an Inland Port in Kansas City at its next Investor meeting.

Ken Hoffman, Past Chair of the Kansas City Smart Port will be providing an overview of the Inland Port in Kansas City that has had a significant positive economic impact on the region.

While the meeting is a chance for SAC Investors to receive an update on SAC major projects, the meeting is open to the public.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 9, 2007 in Saskatoon at the Delta Bessborough Hotel from 1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Information on how to register will be available on the SAC website in the coming days at www.agrivision.ca
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Economic ties to U.S. riding super highway

Postby Oscar » Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:30 pm

Economic ties to U.S. riding super highway

By Don Maroc Oct 25 2006

http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/2006 ... r-highway/

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

A month ago, at the luxurious Banff Springs Hotel, Stockwell Day, John P. Manley, Gordon O'Connor, Peter Lougheed, and Anne McLennan - all past and present ministers in Canadian governments - met a couple of dozen high-ranking government and corporate officials from the U.S. and Mexico to discuss the formation of a North American Union.

The three-day meeting - including people as prominent as U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - was about pushing the NAFTA free trade agreement to the next level, the commercial, financial, and monetary integration of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.

Don't blame this sell-out of Canada on Stephen Harper. On March 23, 2005, in Waco, Texas, then Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, standing beside Presidents George W. Bush of the U.S. and Vincente Fox of Mexico, announced their agreement to form the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.

In spite of that announcement corporate and political leaders now deny any agreement at all, it was just an arrangement for continued dialogue.

Mimicking the Liberals, Harper met during March 2006, in Cancun, Mexico, with Bush and Fox to celebrate the still-being-born North American Union which would eliminate borders and strip Canada down to U.S. non-regulation of commerce, non-protection of the environment, less-than-minimal social safety net and health care and a further destruction of union wages and working conditions.

The first massive project being built is the NAFTA Super Highway. A new corporation, Kansas City (Missouri) Smart Port, Inc., will oversee the construction and operation of a super "port" 1,200 kilometres from the ocean.

The NAFTA Super Highway will start at the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas in southern Mexico where the flood of Chinese-made goods will be loaded onto Kansas City Southern Railway de Mexico and shipped non-stop to Kansas City.

Loading Chinese shipping containers onto U.S. rail cars in Mexico will by-pass the expensive longshoremen in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California.

A portion of the Kansas City port will be declared Mexican territory and custom inspections will take place there instead of at the border.

Another non-profit corporation, North America's Super Corridor Coalition, has the job of building an "international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system" from Lazaro Cardenas through Kansas City and up to Winnipeg. This will allow Mexican trucks to haul sealed shipping containers along a 12-lane superhighway through the heartland of North America, from Mexico to Canada.

Canada is plugging its oil and natural gas, its water and grain, minerals and lumber, not to mention Canadian consumers, into the North American distribution system dominated by the U.S.

Our experience with NAFTA judicial panels, meat inspection and Mad Cow disease, the Afghan war, and the softwood lumber deal should convince us that Canada will be on the short end of the NAFTA Super Highway.
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"North American Inland Port in Saskatchewan"

Postby Oscar » Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:48 am

"North American Inland Port in Saskatchewan"

"Making Transformational Change in the Business of Agriculture"

Notice of Seminar "North American Inland Port in Saskatchewan" & "National Grains Strategy - The Prairies: Phase I"

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Delta Bessborough - Adam Ballroom, Saskatoon

- This meeting is one of three annual meetings held for SAC Investors and is open to the public -

We can view improvements in transportation as a means of energizing our domestic economy, or, we can view it as the means of connecting our local economy with the global market. I would like to take the concept of a North American Inland Port on the prairies that will reduce congestion in Vancouver and view it from two approaches.

An Inland Port will create a transportation hub that will have multiple local and global impacts: the increased pass-through of rail traffic from and to eastern Canada and the US; the increase in the truck movement of goods to the “just-in-time” shippers and users in the region; the attraction of manufacturers and assemblers to the immediate area of the Port; and the organization of the legal and accountancy services that are essential for the efficient functioning of a busy international product transfer center. This will in turn require a local transportation infrastructure that will have dramatic impacts on local creativity and productivity.

On the other hand, if one views the opportunity from a global perspective it becomes apparent that a North American Inland Port in the middle of the prairies puts it at the juncture of the two largest economies in the world: the US and China. To have the shortest ocean-rail connection between these huge markets and in a situation where alternate routes are over extended it becomes a position almost too good to be true: assuming that we move smartly to put the structures in place. I can well imagine the bureaucratic tangle it might create, along with huffing and puffing in the private sector. But, it could also be that there are far-sighted leaders that will put transportation at the top of their list and act quickly.

Kansas City Smart Port provides a North American Inland Port for southern North America and Saskatchewan will provide the Northern hub. For more information, Ken Hoffman, Past-Chair of Kansas City Smart Port will speak on Tuesday, January 9 at the Delta Bessborough on the “Development of the Kansas City Smart Port”.

If you haven't already registered, go to www.agrivision.ca for information on the agenda, the keynote speaker and how to register for this seminar. From the website you can download the registration form OR contact SAC at the numbers below.

Saskatchewan Agrivision Corporation Inc.
502 - 45th Street West
Saskatoon, SK S7L 6H2
Tel: 1-306-384-4491
Fax: 1-306-244-4497
Email: jonathan.warnock@agrivision.ca
Web: www.agrivision.ca

Making Transformational Change in the Business of Agriculture
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STOP SMART PORT

Postby Oscar » Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:56 am

STOP SMART PORT!

Excellent website with background info on how to TAKE ACTION against this ridiculous corporate-friendly scheme:

http://www.naftasuperhighway.info/
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Premeditated Merger - NAFTA Superhighway

Postby Oscar » Mon Sep 10, 2007 11:08 am

PREMEDITATED MERGER - Deal develops Canada's NAFTA Superhighway

Here come Chinese containers to Great White North

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/artic ... E_ID=57463

Posted: September 4, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

An agreement announced by Transport Canada last month advances toward reality the massive planning that has been done to develop the NAFTA Superhighway in Canada.

A July 30 press release on the website of Transport Canada, the Canadian government's counterpart to the U.S. Department of Transportation, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, between the governments of Canada and the provinces of Ontario

The memorandum noted Ontario and Quebec are "vital contributors to the Canadian economy representing approximately 60 percent of Canada's exports and gross domestic product."

"The main objective of this MOU," the document continued, "is to establish this commercial gateway and trade corridor as a strategic, integrated and globally competitive transportation system that supports the movement of international trade."

The memorandum makes clear that the billions of dollars in toll-road highway construction and infrastructure development contemplated will be financed by private investors, including foreign investment consortia, under the model of "public-private partnerships," or PPPs.

The Ontario-Quebec segment of the Canadian Continental Gateway and Trade Corridor derives from a National Policy Framework for Strategic Gateways and Trade Corridors announced this year by the minority conservative government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

According to the National Policy Framework, the Ontario-Quebec Continental Gateway and Trade Corridor "encompasses a system of land, air and marine transportation assets, including the Saint Lawrence River and Great Lakes, that offers a competitive and attractive gateway for international trade."

That globalist impulses are driving Canada's National Policy Framework is made clear from the attention the defining statement of the policy gives to NAFTA and world trade, including competition from the European Union.

"No country in the world is better positioned than Canada to prosper in the emerging global economy," Harper states in a quote included in the "National Policy Framework for Strategic Gateways and Trade Corridors" posted on the Trade Canada website. "The Gateway Initiative is obviously critical to realizing our potential as a country."

The text clearly explains, "The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the European Union (EU) gave rise to new trading blocs that have underpinned the new integrated global marketplace."

The document also addresses the need to place an integrated North American economy and marketplace into an emerging global marketplace that is increasingly dominated by China and India.

"Coupled with the emergence of new economic powers such as China and India, global marketplace integration is driving the distribution of economic activity, as well as the expansion of world trade," the defining document continues.

As WND has reported, PPPs involve comprehensive development contracts negotiated between governments and private investors, including foreign investors, in which the capital required for transportation infrastructure will be invested by private concerns who will then own the toll right concessions for decades after completion of the project.

The Trans-Texas Corridor, or TTC-35, the four-football-fields wide new truck-train-automobile-pipeline superhighway being built by the Texas Department of Transportation is a PPP promoted by the Federal Highway Administration, in which the billions required for the new toll road are being provided by Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, a private investment consortium in Spain.

On April 30, 1992, President George H. W. Bush signed Executive Order No. 12803 on infrastructure privatization, which created PPPs by clearing federal barriers for cities and states to lease public works infrastructure to private investors.

The Canadian National Policy Framework for Strategic Gateways and Trade Corridors shares with the Texas DOT a vision that "intermodal transportation" is one key concept required to understanding the plans now being implemented for building new NAFTA Superhighway infrastructure.

"Intermodal transportation" involves moving containers by a variety of modes of transportation, including ship, airplane, truck and train, without having to repack the containers.

WND has reported the underlying agenda of the multi-national corporations is to redesign and reconfigure NAFTA trade corridors, such as Interstate 35, into new NAFTA Superhighways that will minimize the cost of transporting containers of manufactured goods originating in China and the Far East to their ultimate destinations in North America.

Thus, a container originating in China with low-cost manufactured goods built by Chinese low-cost labor can head toward North American consumers in a container ship across the Pacific Ocean.

Unloading the container in Mexican ports, such as Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas on Mexico's Pacific coast south of Texas, further reduces costs by using Mexican dock workers to unload the goods and Mexican trucks and Mexican trains to transport the goods north along trade corridor transportation infrastructure, such as TTC-35.

FULL STORY and map at:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/artic ... E_ID=57463
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SASKATCHEWAN REPRESENTATIVES ATTENDING TRADE CONFERENCE

Postby Oscar » Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:38 am

SASKATCHEWAN REPRESENTATIVES ATTENDING TRADE CONFERENCE

May 30, 2008

http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=5f7c9c ... 7a1a451b8b

A delegation from Saskatchewan, including Highways and Infrastructure Minister Wayne Elhard is attending the 2008 North America's Super Corridor Coalition (NASCO) Conference in Mexico next week.

"Because Saskatchewan's exports to the U.S. and Mexico exceed $12.5 billion, our exporters' ability to access these markets is critical to our continued growth and prosperity," Elhard said. "This conference provides an excellent opportunity to improve our relationship with our American and Mexican trading partners and to look for opportunities to enhance Saskatchewan's access to a key strategic trading corridor."

NASCO is an organization comprised of state, provincial and municipal governments from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, and private sector representatives. The organization is dedicated to fostering trade and economic development along key trade routes through the North American-mid continent.

Elhard is particularly interested in seeing first hand the GTO Inland Port, a state-of-the art multi-modal-facility and engaging in discussions with Mexican officials responsible for the port's development. The GTO Inland Port is located in Guanajuato City which is hosting the NASCO conference.

"We are exploring opportunities to incorporate aspects of the GTO Inland Port into current provincial railroad infrastructure, the Regina Region Inter-Modal Project and other potential inland port facilities," Elhard said.

Elhard is leaving June 2 and will attend with the Saskatchewan contingent, which includes the mayors of Saskatoon and Regina, and the Regina Regional Economic Development Authority and the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority.

"As the Regina region embarks on developing a multi-modal facility, I am eager to speak to other jurisdictions with experience in this area," Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco said. "Our multi-modal facility will likely be the most significant development for the Regina region for decades. Learning from the successes and challenges of others will ensure we get it right."

"Already a hub for transportation and logistics in the Province, Saskatoon is positioned to continue our growth in exports, distribution and multi-modal facilities," City of Saskatoon Mayor Donald Atchison said. "We have a history of bridging communities and creating partnerships and look forward to sharing opportunities with fellow NASCO participants."

The NASCO conference runs June 4-6. Previous conferences have been held in Fort Worth, TX (2007) and Winnipeg (2006). Canadian participants in NASCO include the provinces of Québec and Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Doug Wakabayashi
Highways and Infrastructure
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4804
Email: dwakabayashi@highways.gov.sk.ca

Alan Migneault
Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-664-0723
Email: amigneault@sreda.com

Larry Hiles
Regina Regional Economic Development Authority
Regina
Phone: 306-791-4694
Email: lhiles@rreda.com
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NAFTA Super Highway Bites The Dust!!!

Postby Oscar » Tue Jan 06, 2009 10:08 pm

Trans-Texas Corridor Scrapped

http://www.trafficworld.com/newssection ... p?id=49260

Traffic World 1/6/2009 William B. Cassidy Executive Editor

The Trans-Texas Corridor, a massive highway, rail and pipeline project, is road kill.

The controversial plan to create a 1,200-foot-wide multimodal highway that would funnel freight from Mexico deep into the U.S. heartland has been scrapped by the Texas Department of Transportation. In its place the Texas DOT favors a much more modest series of transportation improvements with more input from local communities.

The Texas DOT unveiled sweeping changes to the state's infrastructure plans, which include dropping the Trans-Texas Corridor name, at the fourth annual Texas Transportation Forum in Austin Jan. 6.

"Texans have spoken, and we've been listening," said Amadeo Saenz, executive director of the Texas DOT. "Citizens across the state have had good ideas about how Texas roads can better serve Texas communities," Saenz said at the forum.

Those ideas didn't include the $184 billion multimodal transport artery proposed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2002. The Trans-Texas Corridor would have created two massive highways along I-35, to be renamed TTC-35 running north through Dallas and Fort Worth, and a proposed I-69/TCC running north and east through Houston.

Landowners, environmental activists and local businesses in many towns challenged the project, as well as groups opposed to tolling concessions and those who saw the TTC as a "NAFTA superhighway" that ultimately threatened U.S. sovereignty.

Instead of the 1,200-foot-wide corridor, the project will now be comprised of several small segments closer to 600 feet wide. The Texas DOT will seek guidance from corridor segment advisory committees comprised of citizens from communities along the routes.

More.................
http://www.trafficworld.com/newssection ... p?id=49260
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Innovative Connectivity in Texas Vision 2009

Postby Oscar » Tue Feb 10, 2009 5:47 pm

Innovative Connectivity in Texas Vision 2009

http://www.keeptexasmoving.com/index.php/xarpages/
innovative_connectivity_in_texas_vision_2009

Amadeo Saenz, Executive Director
Jan. 6, 2009

A glance forward
Six years ago, when we first introduced the Trans-Texas Corridor, we were clearly focused on what was ahead for Texas - more people, more drivers, more congestion.

We saw the future, and knew we had to make some sweeping changes if we were going to be prepared.

So the T-T-C was born, and we rolled out our big plan. It was called Crossroads of the Americas. It was ambitious - and preliminary. A first step, not a finished product. It was meant to change.

Initially, we did not communicate well enough - or often enough - that the plan would evolve, that initial maps and proposals would be adjusted as time went by.

So the T-T-C became the subject of many discussions, sometimes intense ones.

Local communities, government representatives and other stakeholders weighed in, and the T-T-C began to change.

Eventually legislation, spurred on by these dialogues and discussions, was passed. The T-T-C was refined and better defined. New funding mechanisms and partnership authority were put in place.

And while Texas still needs to plan for the future, while we still must put in place the infrastructure that will handle demand and expectations, we must recognize the inevitable.

The Trans-Texas Corridor, as a single project concept, is not the choice of Texans. So we’ve decided to put the name to rest.

That does not mean that we will abdicate our mission. We will still develop transportation projects that move Texas forward.

We will still partner with local governments and entities, and where appropriate, the private sector, to get needed projects on the ground.

We will still use all the financial tools that have been authorized by law to get projects to Texans sooner rather than later.

Here is what this announcement means.

As of today, we are unveiling a new corridor program that makes use of all the innovative project development tools we have. This new plan, called Innovative Connectivity in Texas/Vision 2009 will usher in this new method of operation.

Projects that had been developed under the heading of the Trans-Texas Corridor will now become a series of individual projects. For example, Loop 9 in Dallas will be known and developed as Loop 9, not the “donut” of TTC-35. Interstate 69 will be known and developed as Interstate 69, not Trans-Texas Corridor 69.

To be clear: the Trans-Texas Corridor as it was known will no longer exist.

It will, however, take some time before we can completely transition away from the name. There are lots of legal documents, studies and sections of state law that currently refer to the Trans-Texas Corridor.

That concept has diminished, and in its place a new plan. A plan that calls for corridor widths to be limited to 600 feet or what is needed to build the particular type of facility that we'll be building. A plan where the corridor modes, locations and sizes will depend heavily on guidance from Corridor Advisory Committees and Corridor Segment Committees. A plan that will consider improving existing transportation resources, whenever possible, rather than breaking new ground.

We will still operate by the basic principles that guide our development of transportation projects.

They are the same guidelines we have already committed to: where we work with private developers, we will retain state ownership of all state highway facilities.

If lanes must be tolled, only those new lanes that must be added to an existing highway will be tolled.

We will plan and design facilities that preserve property to the extent practical.

Copies of our new “Innovative Connectivity” plan will be available for you today. It’s also online.

We encourage you to look it over.

----------------------------------------------

Ed. Link to "Innovative Connectivity" appears to be broken.
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PARTNERSHIP TO RESULT IN BETTER TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTUR

Postby Oscar » Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:30 pm

PARTNERSHIP TO RESULT IN BETTER TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

http://www.gov.sk.ca:80/news?newsId=f9d ... 72aaca4cc9

News Release - February 9, 2009

The Saskatchewan Centre of Excellence for Transportation and Infrastructure (SCETI) has entered into a strategic alliance to conduct joint research on advanced road building techniques.

The partnership between SCETI and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) will encompass all facets of transportation and infrastructure research including developing advanced road materials and systems that perform better in the extremes of the Saskatchewan climate. TTI is located at Texas A&M.

"This partnership advances our goal of re-establishing Saskatchewan as a North American leader in the construction, maintenance and management of transportation systems and infrastructure," Minister of Highways and Infrastructure Wayne Elhard said. "Being on the leading edge of technology and innovation will help ensure that the more than half a billion dollars we invest in transportation annually is used as effectively as possible."

Located at the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, SCETI's mandate is to further leading edge research and train world class transportation engineers. It also provides a "living laboratory" that facilitates field experimentation and validation of the systems developed through real-world evaluation and testing.

"Through partnering with lead research institutions such as TTI, the Centre of Excellence will be able to significantly leverage our research efforts and quickly establish ourselves as world-leaders in innovative transportation research and professional development," Dr. Janusz Kozinski, Dean of the University's College of Engineering and Chairman of the Board of the Centre of Excellence said. "We look forward to the many benefits to be gained through this partnering relationship with TTI."

"The Texas Transportation Institute is excited about the possibilities for pavement research that will result from the collaboration with the University of Saskatchewan." Dr. Dallas Little P.E., Snead Chair Professor in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering and Senior Research Fellow Materials and Pavement Division said. "In particular access to the northern climate field testing and the Canadian Light Source will greatly augment the research program at TTI."

"This agreement establishes a cooperative relationship for the Saskatchewan Centre of Excellence and one of the world's largest transportation research organizations to directly collaborate on technologies specifically developed to meet the infrastructure needs of road agencies. With our partner facility the Canadian Light Source (CLS), this agreement will enable us to undertake state of the art research and professional training on a global scale," Dr. Curtis Berthelot P.Eng., Director of the Centre of Excellence said. "This agreement will benefit the Saskatchewan road infrastructure, as well as form the foundation for a long lasting beneficial relationship for all involved."

As one of North America's most export-dependent jurisdictions, transportation is critical to Saskatchewan's economic and social prosperity. At nearly 26,000 km, the provincial highway system is the largest in Canada on a per capita basis. Including municipal and grid roads, the province's road network is one of the largest in North America on an absolute basis.
-30-

For more information, contact:

Doug Wakabayashi
Highways and Infrastructure
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4804

Anne-Marie Cey
College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-966-1473
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PROVINCE SPEEDS UP $17 M INVESTMENT IN HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTR

Postby Oscar » Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:35 pm

PROVINCE SPEEDS UP $17 M INVESTMENT IN HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=506a9f ... e4e9d4de77

News Release - February 10, 2009

The provincial government is investing $17.65 million in six transportation projects as part of the $500 million infrastructure stimulus package announced last week.

"These investments will not only improve the transportation system, they support the growth aspirations of our cities and help to ensure Saskatchewan's economy remains strong," Wayne Elhard, Minister of Highways and Infrastructure said. "Advancing this money now means pre-construction work can be completed in time to get work underway in the upcoming construction season."

A total of $10 million will go to the City of Regina to support development of the Regina Global Transportation Hub.

"Development of the Global Transportation Hub will provide our businesses and export markets with efficient, state-of-the art links to Canadian and international markets," Elhard said. "With nearly 70 per cent of our economy driven by exports, this will make Saskatchewan more competitive and Regina a more attractive place to invest."

The remaining $7.65 million will be distributed to the following projects:

Highway 1 and 4 interchange improvements - City of Swift Current - $6 million

Contribution through the Urban Highway Connector Program - City of Lloydminster - $750,000

Highway 39 service road improvements (New City Garden Road) - City of Weyburn - $450,000

Highway 6 improvements - City of Melfort - $300,000

Highway 20 intersection improvements - City of Humboldt - $150,000

"Developing these important urban roadway connections to the provincial highway system ensures corridor continuity to, from and through urban centres," Elhard said. "These investments will also enhance safety, alleviate congestion and support the growth of cities."

This $17.65 million investment in highways infrastructure is in addition to the $517.2 million already announced for highways this fiscal year.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Doug Wakabayashi
Highways and Infrastructure
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4804
Cell: 306-787-0049
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Regina Boosts Trucking - Ignores Peak Oil and Climate Change

Postby Oscar » Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:06 pm

Regina Boosts Trucking - Ignores Peak Oil and Climate Change

http://www.actupinsask.org/content/view/564/1/
Contributed by John W. Warnock

Friday, 01 August 2008

Our political leaders in Regina and the provincial government are overjoyed that Loblaw Companies has announced plans to build a huge warehouse distribution centre just five kilometres west of the city. It will be close to the transport facility that Canadian Pacific announced in early July. Mayor Pat Fiacco believes that this will confirm that Regina will be on the great NAFTA highway, where trucks will be able to take a new freeway all the way deep into Mexico.

Loblaw has stated that about 1400 trucks will utilize this terminal each week. The Mayor has announced that other warehouse operations will also be housed in the same area. The provincial government will upgrade the roads. It is not clear yet who will provide the water and sewer for these projects, but it seems most likely that the City of Regina taxpayers will again be called on to fork up. The pollution from this operation, carried by the prevailing winds, will hit mainly those neighbourhoods north of the railway tracks.

Development in Regina always seems to be based on the short term. Investors must be able to maximize profits in the shortest possible time. We are used to land development companies and builders making all the important decisions. Can anyone remember if we ever had any real city planning?

Peak Oil is a reality

But people living in Saskatchewan are not unaffected by major world developments. Peak Oil is one. Oil prices are rising steadily due to the fact that since the early 1960s we have consumed more oil every year than has been discovered. What oil and gas is left, and available in North America, is much harder and more costly to extract. World oil consumption continues to increase every year. All the experts, including the International Energy Agency, project steady increases into the future. Only serious recessions, like the Asian crisis on 1998, reduce oil prices, and then only temporarily.

No one in Regina has seemed to notice that around the world truckers are striking as they cannot afford the present fuel prices. Yet the political leaders in Saskatchewan and Regina believe the future is in trucking and the long distance transportation of goods. The large supermarket chains like Safeway, Loblaw and Sobeys do not buy locally. They are highly centralized, top down operations. So the project west of Regina is business as usual. But for how long?

Climate change is happening now

Then there is also the reality of climate change. If governments ever decide to take action on greenhouse gas emissions, carbon taxes will further increase the price of oil and gas. Higher transportation costs, linked to higher fuel costs, are already contributing to higher food prices around the world. With the price of oil projected to rise to $200 a barrel by next year, there will undoubtedly be shifts in transportation strategies.

To those who run the City of Regina, it is always business as usual. Under public pressure they have been bringing in experts to give them advice. The consultants recommend a shift to Smart Growth and eco-friendly development. Remember the magnificent plans put forth by Avi Friedman and his colleagues? How quickly they went into the trash bin. The developers are firmly committed to suburban sprawl.

Portland takes a different road

In contrast, Portland, Oregon has been taking all of this very seriously. They created a Peak Oil Task Force to study the issue, to project changes and come up with some solutions. Portland had already broken with business as usual and adopted many Smart Growth options, including putting a boundary limit for the city, mandating the preservation of agricultural land, and introducing programs to assist low income people in their quest for housing.

What are some of the findings of the Portland study?

* Automobile use will decline and there will be a greater reliance on expanded public transportation. Air travel will decline significantly.
* The transportation of freight will shift from air and truck to rail and boat.
* The amount and variety of food will decrease, food will cost more, and a shift will be made to local agriculture and processing. Food retailing will shift away from supermarkets in malls to more neighbourhood operations.
*Housing will shift to smaller, energy efficient buildings, and many will have to move to lower-quality housing.
* Higher energy costs will force consumers to reduce their discretionary spending, and this will adversely affect many business operations.

The Smart Growth alternative

The solution proposed by the Portland Peak Oil Task Force called on local, state and federal governments to play a more active role in developing alternatives. The first requirement was to build public knowledge of the situation, leading to broad participation in the planning process.

Fundamentally, there had to be a major change in urban design, away from the suburban growth model that has dominated North American development since the end of World War II and the introduction of the automobile economy. They endorsed all the proposals which are well known as central to the Smart Growth strategy. Emphasis is to be placed on reduced fossil fuel use through energy conservation. A major commitment is being made to expanding local food production and processing. A high priority is to be placed on protection of the vulnerable and marginalized populations.

It has long been said that in most trends Canada lags behind the United States by around 20 years. That appears to be the case when it comes to city planning and urban design. But we cannot afford to take 20 years to start seriously dealing with Peak Oil and climate change.

John W. Warnock is a Regina political economist, author and green activist.
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PROVINCE UNVEILS ROADWORK EXPANSION PLAN FOR GLOBAL TRANSPOR

Postby Oscar » Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:20 am

PROVINCE UNVEILS ROADWORK EXPANSION PLAN FOR GLOBAL TRANSPORTATION HUB

News Release - March 5, 2009

http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=da551b ... 17b3e0cfd5

MAP: http://www.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMed ... &PN=Shared

Highways and Infrastructure Minister Wayne Elhard today made public the plans to upgrade and expand Pinkie Road and Dewdney Avenue to make way for continued development of the Global Transportation Hub (GTH).

"Work on Stage I of the road upgrades for the GTH will begin this spring in order to ensure the roadway will accommodate anticipated heavy truck traffic," Elhard said. "Strategic transportation planning is a critical element of Saskatchewan's strong and steady economic growth and we need to ensure our future road capacity provides the safest and most efficient routes possible. The GTH development has significant potential. By moving ahead with these roadway improvements we've shown our commitment to the continued strong growth in the province."

Stage I of the GTH roadwork, which involves upgrades to the existing Pinkie Road and RM Grid 730 (Dewdney Ave extension) will cost an estimated $22 million. It is the beginning of the long term plan to build a west bypass that will connect Highways 1 and 11. The Ministry recently selected the land corridor in which the west bypass will be built. It will run from south to north five km west of Lewvan Drive and will provide the long-term transportation capacity needed for the estimated 1,400 heavy trucks per week that will move goods to and from the GTH.

The route selection involved a comprehensive public consultation process, which included two stakeholder meetings, numerous meetings between the RM of Sherwood, the City of Regina and the dozens of landowners in the area. The west bypass route was chosen from a group of five possible routes, and was ultimately selected because it affected the fewest number of landowners.

The remaining stages of the project will span over a period of more than a decade as development in the area grows. The route will ensure the province is ready for the increased traffic growth generated by logistics interests which may be considering operations at the GTH.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Kirsten Leatherdale
Highways and Infrastructure
Regina
Phone: 306-787-8484
Cell: 306-536-9692

Related Documents (MAP)

staged construction.pdf (6.5 MB)

http://www.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMed ... &PN=Shared
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PROVINCE SPEEDS UP $17 M INVESTMENT IN HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTR

Postby Oscar » Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:27 am

PROVINCE SPEEDS UP $17 M INVESTMENT IN HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=506a9f ... e4e9d4de77

News Release - February 10, 2009

The provincial government is investing $17.65 million in six transportation projects as part of the $500 million infrastructure stimulus package announced last week.

"These investments will not only improve the transportation system, they support the growth aspirations of our cities and help to ensure Saskatchewan's economy remains strong," Wayne Elhard, Minister of Highways and Infrastructure said. "Advancing this money now means pre-construction work can be completed in time to get work underway in the upcoming construction season."

A total of $10 million will go to the City of Regina to support development of the Regina Global Transportation Hub.

"Development of the Global Transportation Hub will provide our businesses and export markets with efficient, state-of-the art links to Canadian and international markets," Elhard said. "With nearly 70 per cent of our economy driven by exports, this will make Saskatchewan more competitive and Regina a more attractive place to invest."

The remaining $7.65 million will be distributed to the following projects:

Highway 1 and 4 interchange improvements - City of Swift Current - $6 million
Contribution through the Urban Highway Connector Program - City of Lloydminster - $750,000
Highway 39 service road improvements (New City Garden Road) - City of Weyburn - $450,000
Highway 6 improvements - City of Melfort - $300,000
Highway 20 intersection improvements - City of Humboldt - $150,000

"Developing these important urban roadway connections to the provincial highway system ensures corridor continuity to, from and through urban centres," Elhard said. "These investments will also enhance safety, alleviate congestion and support the growth of cities."

This $17.65 million investment in highways infrastructure is in addition to the $517.2 million already announced for highways this fiscal year.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Doug Wakabayashi
Highways and Infrastructure
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4804
Cell: 306-787-0049
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The BIG Plan marches on. . .

Postby Oscar » Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:08 am

The BIG Plan marches on. . .

March 14, 2009

TILMA, SPP, NAFTA, NAFTA Highway (aka Innovative Connectivity) - all in one neat little package. . . all according to the BIG plan for NAU!!!

Background: http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=40

================================

Western premiers agree to bolster trade through economic partnership
‘We live in a new world,’ B.C. premier says of recession


http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Western+premiers+agree+
bolster+trade+through+economic+partnership/1387339/story.html

By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun March 13, 2009

VANCOUVER — Canada's three most western provinces on Friday struck an agreement to work jointly at lifting their respective economies out of recession through cooperative efforts to bolster trade and economic development.

The premiers of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan unveiled their economic partnership in Vancouver following the first ever joint cabinet meeting involving the governments of all three provinces.

In the partnership, the three provinces have agreed to work cooperatively on a wide range of issues from labour mobility between provinces to infrastructure development, fostering technological innovation, boosting trade in the Asia Pacific region and tackling gang violence.

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said the premiers called the unprecedented joint meeting "in response to some of the emerging [economic] trends taking place."

"We live in a new world," Campbell said in preamble to the event's closing news conference, "and it's important for us to respond to that new world in a way that's positive, constructive and takes full advantage of the opportunities before us."

Campbell, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall unveiled the agreement on the same day Statistics Canada released its latest labour force survey showing increases in unemployment in all three provinces.

Recent economic forecasts have estimated that Saskatchewan will be the only province of the three to record positive economic growth in 2009.

The provinces agreed to consider a joint pension plan for workers in all three provinces, to cooperate on infrastructure projects that support moving goods through the Asia Pacific gateway.

Campbell said the provinces will also jointly operate resource trade offices throughout the Asia Pacific region.

"Breaking down barriers to trade and labour mobility is critically important to our shared economic strength," Campbell said.

On the issue of gang violence, which is in the forefront of public attention in B.C., the premiers said they will cooperate to share police intelligence on gang activity and conduct possible joint enforcement projects.

Campbell said they will also consider creating and operating a joint remand centre to house gang members in custody awaiting trial to keep them separate from general jail populations. However, Campbell did not cite a possible location for such a centre.

depenner@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

=====================================

Western provinces talk of partnership

http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Western+provinces+talk+
partnership/1389716/story.html

By Neil Scott, Leader-Post March 14, 2009

Plans to work on a new Western Canadian "economic partnership,'' were announced following a joint Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia cabinet meeting Friday.

But controversy quickly erupted about whether Saskatchewan had effectively agreed Friday to join the Trade, Investment Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) with B.C. and Alberta, contrary to promises made in the past by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall.

There was talk about co-operation in economic development, trade, crime prevention and possibly in establishing a voluntary pension plan for residents of the three provinces, when the three premiers met the press at the end of the joint cabinet meeting in Vancouver.

"It was historic,'' Wall said.

"We have a huge opportunity in the West to continue to provide economic leadership,'' Wall added.

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell agreed.

"What we're talking about here is nothing less than the establishment of a new Western Canadian economic partnership,'' Campbell said at the press conference.

In a news release issued in conjunction with the press conference, Campbell specifically referred to issues about labour mobility.

"Breaking down barriers to trade and labour mobility is critically important to our shared economic strength and to creating jobs,'' Campbell said.

No questions were asked at the Vancouver press conference specifically about whether the new partnership would essentially involve Saskatchewan signing on with TILMA.

Saskatchewan Opposition Leader Lorne Calvert said he is worried that the Saskatchewan government is moving "inch by inch'' towards agreeing to TILMA.

"My view is give them an inch and they'll take a mile,'' Calvert said.

There are "some very confusing messages,'' coming out of Friday's meeting, Calvert said, adding there needs to be further explanation about what the agreement means and consultations with the public.

Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, raised the same concern.

"He's doing it piece by piece behind closed doors,'' Hubich charged.

Wall said in the release that "a new agreement would address the interests of all the provinces, including our interests related to Crown corporations and municipalities.

"As I indicated two years ago, we would be interested in pursuing a trade agreement with Alberta and British Columbia if our interests could be addressed,'' Wall added.

Campbell said part of the partnership agreement would involve the three provinces working together in promoting the sale of natural resources and other exports in the Asia Pacific area.

The possibility of having a joint business registration for the three Western Canadian provinces was also mentioned. There were also discussions about joint action in dealing with gang-related criminal activity.

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
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