Prime Minister Harper Announces New Investments in the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative

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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  First of all, I want to thank Stockwell Day for that kind introduction, for being our International Trade and Asia-Pacific Gateway Minister, and for the good work he's doing as regional minister for British Columbia.  Greetings to my Parliamentary colleagues from the Lower Mainland, James Moore, Nina Grewal, Alice Wong.  Greetings to Mayor Gregor Robertson and to our partners, Canadian Pacific President and CEO Fred Green, Port Metro Vancouver President and CEO Robin Silvester, and to all of his staff.  Thank you for hosting us here today. 

It's wonderful to be back here in British Columbia and Vancouver, and especially to be here in the heart of the port.  Now, as many of you know, I've lived inland all of my life.  I grew up in Toronto.  I've lived for a long time now in Calgary and of course in Ottawa for many years, so when I come here and I see the huge ocean freighters and the spectacular infrastructure of a major port, it is always a thrill. 

Most Canadians only know Vancouver for its beauty and its unparalleled quality of life.  But the truth is, the city with the port at its heart is one of the most dynamic urban economies in the world.  As I said before and I'll say again, Vancouver is Canada's powerhouse on the Pacific. 

I've been here a few times since our government first announced the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative back in 2006.  It is great to see all the progress that is being made on local projects that are part of the Initiative, including the Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill interchange, dredging at the Fraser Port, expansion of the Roberts Bank Deltaport, and of course the South Fraser Perimeter Road.  Work is also underway up in Prince Rupert at the northern terminus of the gateway, as well as at various intermodal terminals in the city of the West, and the major highways that link them through the corridor to the Pacific coast.

In the midst of the worst global recession in half a century, these projects are creating or sustaining jobs for Canadians.  They're also helping generate economic activity in communities hard hit by the downturn.  But they are as well laying the foundations for the longer term prosperity of our country by creating the infrastructure that will strengthen our trading relationships with the rising economic powers of Asia.  The Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative is a multi-billion-dollar effort involving industry, the provinces, municipalities and the federal government.  Everyone involved, including all the hardworking port workers who are here today, should be very proud of what has been accomplished on the Gateway so far. 

You should also be very excited about what lies ahead, because today we are taking another big step forward under the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative. 

I'm very pleased to announce that we are launching two new major transportation infrastructure projects here in the south shore port area.  In partnership with the City of Vancouver and the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways, and Port Metro Vancouver, we are going to eliminate the traffic bottlenecks at no fewer than 11 road-rail crossings.

Disentangling the crossings along Powell and Stewart Streets will dramatically improve the movement of people and goods.  More freight will be able to travel more efficiently through the port, traffic congestion will be reduced, road safety increased, and emergency vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians will all enjoy freer, safer movement throughout the area.  Moreover, in this difficult time of global recession, these infrastructure projects will create and sustain jobs as well as new business opportunities for local suppliers of goods and services. 

Most important of all, these projects bring us one step closer to making our Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor the best trans-Pacific transportation network on the continent.  If you are a miner in Manitoba, a farmer in Saskatchewan, a rancher in Alberta, a logger in BC, or anyone else involved in the production of resources or manufactured goods for export, the Gateway is your bridge to more and bigger markets.  Consumers will benefit too because more efficient transportation networks mean lower costs and cheaper prices on imported goods.  Ladies and gentlemen, the lifeblood of our economy flows through the heart of the Port of Vancouver, and the Gateway Initiative is making that heart beat stronger than ever. 

These projects also complement our larger national effort to counter the effects of the global recession.  Under Canada's Economic Action Plan, our government is creating jobs and stimulating economic activity on infrastructure projects from coast to coast to coast.  Ninety percent of the stimulus funding for this year has been committed to more than 7,500 projects.  And over 4,000 of those infrastructure and housing projects are now underway.  Our Economic Action Plan is working. 

Thanks to our solid fiscal foundations, our world-class banking, world-leading banking system, and the extraordinarily rapid response to the financial and economic crisis that shook the world last year, Canada was the last major industrialized country dragged into the global recession.  We have been less affected than many others.  And we will come out of it faster and stronger than most. 

Already, as you know, we are seeing some tentative signs of recovery, and that recovery is projected to be the strongest among the G7 nations.  It is true, however, that we are not out of the woods yet.

Just as Canada was dragged into recession through no fault of our own, our recovery could be affected by economic events beyond our borders, or by political instability at home.  That is why we must stay on course, we must continue implementing our Plan, and finish the job of building the foundations of Canada's future prosperity.  By looking forward today and supporting projects like the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, we are seizing the opportunities that will get us through these difficult times and ensure that our country, Canada, emerges stronger than ever. 

Thank you.

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