THE CANADIAN NORTHERN CORRIDOR CONCEPT: BUILDING … · 3. International trade and investment implications Geography and Engineering 1. Mapping and visualization of corridor dimensions

THE CANADIAN NORTHERN CORRIDOR CONCEPT: BUILDING CANADA’S FUTURE

A research program on the feasibility of multi-modal rights-of-way in Canada’s north and near-north

Presentation to The Canadian Academy of Engineering AGM and Symposium,

Dr. Robert MansellJune 18, 2018, Calgary

CANADIAN NORTHERN CORRIDOR: THE CONCEPT

• What is it? The establishment of permissible corridors: defined multi-modal rights-of-way through Canada’s north and near-north with an accompanying regulatory and governance structure to facilitate private and public sector infrastructure investments.

• What Infrastructure?• Electrical and other utilities • Telecommunications• Rail• Road• Pipelines

• Objective? To provide forward, long term solutions to geographic, political and economic challenges, providing growth and diversification through access to rapidly expanding international markets, reducing interregional trade barriers, enhancing Indigenous and northern development opportunities and supporting northern security objectives.

CANADIAN NORTHERN CORRIDOR: THE CONCEPT

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CANADIAN NORTHERN CORRIDOR: WHY?

• Congested southern corridor with datedinfrastructure• Lack of access and ports to reach fastest

growing export markets and achieve marketdiversification• Challenges for new national infrastructure

development• Accommodate long run growth in population

and the economy

The Canadian Pacific Railway(1872-1884)The TransCanada Highway System (1950-1971)The St. Lawrence Seaway (1954-1959)

These projects facilitated economic and

social development and have led to improvements in the quality of life of Canadians.

CANADIAN NORTHERN CORRIDOR: WHY?

Compared to the current piecemeal, non-integrated approach it would:

• be closer to the location of known resources and would facilitate new exploration and development

• create economies of scale and scope through multi-modal bundling (road, rail, air, pipeline, electricity generation/transmission, telecommunications, ports)• minimize the overall environmental footprint• ease congestion on southern infrastructure and promote overall

system rationalization• enhance safety and security

CORRIDOR EXAMPLES

• Similar but distinct from Mid-Canada Corridor proposed by Richard Rohmer in 1970.• International Examples• Pilbara, Australia Corridor• The Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor• The Kenyan Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET)• Callide infrastructure corridor in Australia

• A Canadian example: The Slave Geological Province Access Corridor,promoted by the governments of Northwest Territories and Nunavut, isunder development.

WHY PURSUE THE CORRIDOR APPROACH NOW?

• There is urgency to demonstrate that Canada can

overcome the paralysis and fragmentation ininfrastructure development, a significantcontributor to Canada’s loss of competitiveness.

• There is a renewed Government of Canada focuson infrastructure:

• The Government of Canada acknowledges itsresponsibility to ensure significant new investmentsin key strategic infrastructure that will increase tradeand economic growth;

• Budget 2017 allocated $2.1 billion to the Trade andTransportation Corridor Initiative, to contribute toachieving the Transportation 2030 objectives ofmodernizing transportation infrastructure; and

• Budget 2018 devoted $618 million to the NationalTrade Corridors Fund over five years to strengthenthe efficiency and reliability of national tradecorridors.

Deterioration of Canada’s international investment position; Canadianinvestment abroad has outgrown foreign investment in Canada.Source: CANSIM 376-0051. International investment position, Canadian directinvestment abroad and foreign direct investment in Canada, by country.

WHY PURSUE THE CORRIDOR APPROACH NOW?

• The governments of Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavutare prioritizing infrastructure corridors. As an example, GNWT’s25-year Transportation Strategy identifies the development ofthree new corridors as being of crucial importance to the futuredevelopment of the territory’s infrastructure needs.

• The corridor concept supports the Government of Canada’sregulatory reform agenda, specifically regarding regulation oftransportation and infrastructure. The corridor concept promotesregulatory certainty, de-risking the regulatory process forinfrastructure investment in Canada and prepares the way forprivately-funded and economically driven projects.

IT CAN BE TRANSFORMATIONAL

• Currently, new infrastructure is subject to regulatory delay and public opposition, often motivated byone-off interests instead of a strategic purpose. The Northern Corridor concept considers Canadiantransportation, transmission and communications infrastructure as a single network system, whereinimprovements to individual aspects of the network benefit the network as a whole. The use of acoordinated approach to manage future individual infrastructure proposals will promote the efficiencyand efficacy of the entire Canadian network.

• The corridor concept is not about getting approval for infrastructure. It is about getting approval forrights-of-way where infrastructure might go. The infrastructure itself would still be subject to thenormal regulatory requirement of a public interest test. What is different about the corridor concept isthat it allows for a comprehensive conversation about what is an appropriate place for the rights-of-way, given existing population centres and economic activity and potential future activity, with anemphasis on minimizing the environmental footprint.

• Successfully implementing infrastructure corridors in Canada will require substantial changes toregulation and policy. Developing the governance structure, financing options and determining thephysical location will require engagement and partnerships with Indigenous communities.

TOO BIG FOR CANADA?

“Here is a country of only three and a half million people, not yet four years old,

pledged to construct the greatest of all

railways.”*

-Pierre Berton 1974 (Writing about Canada as it existed in 1872.)

FEDERAL EVALUATION

In the Senate of Canada’s 2017report on the concept of a NationalTrade Corridor, Senator DavidTkachuck (chair of the SenateStanding Committee on Banking,Trade and Commerce) said:

“Not since Sir John A. Macdonald’sNational Policy in the 1870s hasCanada had such an opportunity tobuild such a monumentalinfrastructure project with thepotential to transform the country’seconomy.”

The Senate of Canada’s 2017 report on thecorridor concept states: “In the committee’sopinion, the development of an east-westcorridor through Canada’s North and near-North would unlock significant economicopportunities for our country. A national,large-scale project that would transformCanada’s transportation infrastructure wouldenable the federal government to address arange of pressing issues with Canada’stransportation systems, and to articulate avision for the country’s long-termdevelopment. The federal government mustseize this opportunity.”

INDICATED SUPPORT

• Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce• 2017 report “National Corridor: Enhancing and Facilitating Commerce

and Internal Trade”recommended $5 Million in funding.

• Minister of Transportation’s response to “National Corridor” Senate report• Supported the Senate Recommendations

• Denendeh Investments Incorporated, representing the for-profit investments made collectively by the Dene First Nations of the Northwest Territories on behalf of the people of Denendeh

• Government of Northwest Territories

• University Faculties

BACKGROUND

www.policyschool.ca

www.policyschool.ca/northern-corridor/

PHASE 1 PROGRAM

WE INVITE YOUR PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT

Strategic and Trade Dimensions1. Arctic sovereignty and national purpose benefits2. The case for transportation systems in Northern

development3. International trade and investment implications

Geography and Engineering1. Mapping and visualization of corridor dimensions2. Engineering challenges and routing options3. The potential for transportation system

rationalization4. Potential construction timelines and costs

Funding and Financing Dimensions1. Private- and public-sector business cases2. Equity and debt financing options 3. Potential private sector, government and Indigenous

participationLegal and Regulatory Dimensions

1. Federal, provincial and territorial legislative and regulatory approaches

2. Land ownership and right-of-way issues3. The case for project-specific expenditure programs

Organization and Governance1. Oversight and accountability2. Community consultation and engagement mechanisms3. The case for inclusive project-specific institutional arrangements

Economic Outcomes1. Potential overall impact on the Canadian economy2. Potential regional economic impacts3. Potential industrial impacts by sector

Social Benefits and Costs1. Potential impact on life in the north – jobs, cost of living, social

amenities2. Potential impact on Indigenous groups and communities3. Potential impact on life in the south from transportation system

rationalizationEnvironmental Impacts

1. Potential net overall environmental impact2. Policy options for mitigating impacts3. Policy options for environmental assessment

KEY CONTACTS

PG Forest, PhD, Professor and Director, James S. and Barbara A. Palmer Chair in Public Policy, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary | [email protected]

Robert Mansell, PhD, Academic Director and Professor of Economics, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary | [email protected]

Jennifer Winter, PhD, Scientific Director, Energy and Environmental Policy and Assistant Professor, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary | [email protected]

G. Kent Fellows, PhD, Research Associate, Energy and Environmental Policy, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary | [email protected]

Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations | [email protected]

Marcelin Joanis, PhD, Vice President Research – Government partners, Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations | [email protected]

WHO ARE WE?

The School of Public Policy is Canada’s leading policy school. The School was founded in 2008 by renowned economist Jack Mintz with a vision to drive policy discourse with relevant research, outreach and teaching. Its faculty is composed of scholars with exceptional academic credentials and experienced practitioners in business, government and the non-profit sector.The School’s research is respected because it is independent, credible, and based on hard data. Its influence is reflected by its wide dissemination among policy makers, business leaders, and the media. Indeed, the School is Canada’s most cited policy school, both within traditional media and academic publications.The School of Public Policy also provides hands-on training in Canada and abroad through a Master of Public Policy Program, an Extractive Resource Governance Program, and an Executive Training Program. Its alumni can be found in leadership positions in the private, public and non-profit sectors across Canada.What we do:Advance practical and focused policy researchShape public policy by driving meaningful debatesDevelop Canada’s future policy leaders

WHO ARE WE?

CIRANO integrates knowledge into action to foster the development of social and economic innovation.CIRANO brings together over 230 professor-researchers active in a variety of disciplines, including economics, finance, management, information systems, computer science and operational research, psychology, sociology, political science, law, history, and medicine. CIRANO fulfills it two-fold mission of research and liaison and transfer of cutting-edge knowledge by:creating partnerships between researchers and small, medium-sized or large organizations, private or public;

collaborating with its partners on research projects that bring together the best researchers, regardless of their university affiliation, to generate innovative solutions for these organizations while simultaneously advancing knowledge;organizing or co-organizing symposia, conferences, seminars, and workshops, making CIRANO a meeting place for researchers and practitioners to come together and exchange ideas;distributing the results of its research in the form of various publications destined to the scientific community, practitioners, and the public at large;recruiting graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and young research professionals to participate in these projects.

NORTHERN CORRIDOR ACTIVITY

ResearchAndrei Sulzenko and G. Kent Fellows. 2016. “Planning for Infrastructure to Realize Canada’s Potential: The Corridor Concept,” The School of Public Policy Publications, 9, http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v9i0.42591.g30471.G. Kent Fellows and Trevor Tombe. 2018. “Gains from Trade for Canada’s North: The Case for a Northern Infrastructure Corridor,” The School of Public Policy Publications, 11, forthcoming. G. Kent Fellows and Trevor Tombe. 2018. “Opening Canada’s North: A Study of Trade Costs in the Territories,” The School of Public Policy Publications, 11, forthcoming. PresentationsPress conference: Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery, Ottawa, ON, May 2016 Invited presentation: Opportunities North Conference, Yellowknife, NWT, August 2016 Invited presentation: Pipeline Gridlock Conference, Calgary, AB, October 2016 Invited testimony to the Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce, Ottawa, ON, October 2016Invited presentation: Northern Exposure Conference, St. John’s, NFLD, January 2017Invited presentation: Northern Lights Conference, Ottawa, ON, January 2018Op-EdsClaude Montmarquette and Andrei Sulzenko, “A 7,000-kilometre northern corridor in search of shared vision,” The Globe and Mail, May 26, 2016.Licia Corbella, “Corbella: How an infrastructure right-of-way could be Trudeau's legacy,” Calgary Herald, June 27, 2017.G. Kent Fellows, “Why Canada needs continued investment in transportation infrastructure,” The Globe and Mail, August 6, 2017.Nelson Bennett, “Canada’s Northern Corridor: The National Dream 2.0,” Business in Vancouver, November 14, 2017.

NORTHERN CORRIDOR ACTIVITY

Select Media Interviews (Print, Radio and TV)Globe and Mail: Why Canada needs continued investment in transportation infrastructure (August 6, 2017)Globe and Mail: Proposed 7,000-kilometre resource corridor would improve life in Canada's North (March 24, 2016)Globe and Mail: A 7,000-kilometre northern corridor in search of shared vision (May 26, 2016)CBC: Northern corridor could reduce 'the cost of everything in the North,‘ (June 8, 2016)CBC: Considering the Corridor: Is a northern transportation network possible? (July 5, 2016)CBC: What should a transportation strategy for the north look like? July 14, 2016)CBC North (TV): Northern corridor could reduce 'the cost of everything in the North,' says researcher (June 8, 2016)Huffington Post: Passage Through Northern Canada Could Help Isolated Arctic Communities (June 7, 2016)Huffington Post: 'Northern Corridor' Would Cost $100B, Bring Cheaper Food To North: Report (May 27, 2016)Global News: How a $100B transit investment could lower cost of goods in Canada’s North (May 27, 2016)Winnipeg Free Press: Report says $100B 'Northern Corridor' project could cut cost of goods in North (May 26, 2016)National Post: The grandiose — but failed — 1960s plan by an Ontario war hero to settle a 'second Canada' below the Arctic (September 1, 2016)The Western Producer: Northern Transportation Corridor would have ‘revolutionary impact’ (July 6,2017)The Hill Times: “Infrastructure improvements could increase annual GDP of northern territories by $4.7-billion: report” (April 9th, 2018)CTV Saskatoon (TV) Farmgate : The Northern Corridor Concept and Implications for Prairie Agriculture and the Port of Churchill (August 17, 2017)

THANK YOU!