Does the Atlantic Gateway Really Exist?

In October of 2007 the federal Conservative government announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Atlantic Provinces. The agreement was hailed as a landmark partnership that would allow for the creation of an Atlantic Gateway helping to ensure improved trade, economic growth and prosperity for the entire region.

The Atlantic Gateway Initiative, it was said, would allow for, “…leveraging our most important transportation systems to better connect Canada with the world”.

Four years later, how much do any of us know about what’s been done to make the Atlantic Gateway a reality and what economic benefits have we seen as a result of the initiative?

A few months after the agreement was signed, a handful of official announcements were made touting the importance of the MOU and boasting of a $2.1 billion national fund. It was said that a portion of that fund could be leveraged to finance partner projects as part of the Atlantic Gateway. The exact proportion of funds available in Atlantic Canada was not identified.

After the initial media blitz the Atlantic Gateway website reveals no further press releases or announcements for an extended period of time.

The next public statements out of Ottawa regarding the Atlantic Gateway don’t appear until February of 2011, more than two and a half years after the MOU was signed.

At that time, and for a few short weeks, releases again began to appear. These identified a hodgepodge of funding for small projects under the Atlantic Gateway banner, everything from small wharf improvements to airport lighting. The announced projects had a combined value of less than $50 million dollars, were spread across the four Atlantic Provinces and came in the 3 months leading up to the last federal election.

Since the election last May silence has once again descended on the Gateway.

The Atlantic Gateway site shows no comprehensive list of project funding and no accounting of the money spent. No identification of Gateway related policies or planning activities can be found there either. In fact the site provides little substance beyond the posting of the handful of intermittent political press releases previously identified.

Compare this with the official site for the Pacific Gateway, a similar program on the West Coast of Canada, which was initiated just 12 months prior to the Atlantic MOU being signed.

A visit to that site reveals a number of informational links on everything from federal investments to security activity, marine and air policies, environmental information and more. Visitors can even access an interactive map identifying exactly where and how much funding has been provided and what was accomplished with the dollars spent.

The map shows that nearly a billion dollars has been spent in Lower BC alone. That figure is in addition to more than $600 million allocated to other projects throughout the West, all tagged as part of the Pacific Gateway initiative.

Since the Atlantic Gateway, like its Pacific counterpart, is intended to boost trade by enhancing transportation infrastructure it might be expected that the Harper government would try to “brand” any and all federal funding for air, sea or ground transportation projects as part of the Atlantic Gateway Initiative. No doubt that tactic accounts for at least a portion of the funding identified out West but when compared to the low level of spending in the Atlantic region the numbers are no less staggering.

It would be easy to announce funding for bridge work, highways or even the new ferries for Marine Atlantic in Newfoundland and Labrador as a part of the initiative, even though they are all part of the normal activities of government. It’s exactly the sort of thing politicians are so efficient at doing but in this case they don’t even appear interested enough in the Atlantic Gateway concept to muddy the waters that way.

When it comes to the dollars specifically identified for Gateway initiatives in Canada it appears that the Atlantic Initiative has garnered only 3% of the funds spent on the Pacific coast, hardly indicative of a federal priority.

Granted Canada’s largest trading partner, the U.S. is easily accessible overland or through the Great Lakes. Granted as well, a high volume of trade between Canada and China is a valid reason to improve transport infrastructure in BC. That said, an enormous trade deal is about to be signed with the European Union. It seems rather short sighted that more emphasis has not been placed on ensuring Europe’s closest ports of call, in Atlantic Canada, are able to fully take advantage of that reality.

If the Atlantic Gateway Initiative is intended to improve transportation infrastructure for trade imports and exports the jury is still out on how effective it will be. If the intent is to promote a gateway for Atlantic Canadian workers to head west in search of employment the concept may be very effective.

Newfoundland & Labrador Shut out of Atlantic Gateway Initiative?

The more things change the more they stay the same in Newfoundland and Labrador, or more precisely, WITH Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.

Based on a recent article in the St. John’s Telegram and from information provided by the Liberal MP from Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte, it appears the province may well be shut out of Billions of dollars in funding for the Atlantic Gateway project approved by Ottawa and the provinces nearly 4 years ago.

Excerpts from the St. John’s Telegram:

In October 2007, Trevor Taylor — then Newfoundland and Labrador’s minister of innovation, trade and rural development — signed an agreement with the three other Atlantic provinces and the federal government to develop the roads, railways and ports necessary to make the region a hub of international trade.

Peter MacKay, the Nova Scotia Member of Parliament and minister responsible for what was called the Atlantic Gateway, called the concept a “smarter approach.”

“Atlantic Canada has some very able people here now that are going to put their shoulder to the wheel and get the gateway rolling,” he said at the time.

“All four Atlantic provinces are working together, pulling together and moving in the same direction with the federal government.” (The italics added by Web Talk)

Three and a half years later, the gateway is rolling, with projects underway or approved, 17 in all, worth a total of $229.2 million. In New Brunswick: seven projects, $126.2 million. In Nova Scotia: six projects, $92.5 million. In Prince Edward Island: four projects, $10.5 million. In Newfoundland and Labrador: zero projects, zero dollars.

The list of projects funded through the Gateways and Board Crossings Fund, obtained Tuesday from Transport Canada through a request made by members of the standing committee on transportation, infrastructure and communities, lists the individual projects and their costs.

That includes $87.5 million to twin 55 kilometres of Route 1 in New Brunswick, $36.5 million to upgrade and expand cargo handling services at the Port of Halifax, and $4.5 million for Route 1 realignment and intersection installation on Prince Edward Island.

Gerry Byrne, the Liberal MP for Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte and a member of the standing committee, called Newfoundland and Labrador’s exclusion disturbing. He said he obtained the list when he and two other Liberal members of the committee requested an update on the strategy for the fund — which he said is about $800 million out of $2.1 billion in a broader fund that includes Ontario and Quebec.
…
The list of projects include airport work in Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick, announced late last month while the St. John’s Airport Authority’s 2009 request for help funding a new $25-million instrumentation landing system, which would help more planes land in foggy weather, has been unfulfilled.

Fraser Edison, chairman of the airport authority’s board of directors, said the economic benefits of getting the work done at the St. John’s airport should be clear, but they’ve been stymied for funding.

“As of today, nothing. No word whatsoever on it,” he said. “This would increase five per cent in the accessibility of the airport, and five per cent represents 70,000 passengers and 700 flights (a year).”

Likewise, the lack of roadwork approved is a sore spot for the Newfoundland and Labrador Road Builders’ Association, too.

Austin Sheppard, the association's business manager, says the province’s exclusion “leaves a sour taste.”

“I am heading off to meetings in Moncton in early May for the Atlantic Road Builders, and that’s one topic that always comes up for discussion,” he said.
The briefing notes from the deputy minister mentions federal commitments to Marine Atlantic, about $521 million, and Byrne says it seems as though the federal government considers that Newfoundland’s share of the Gateway fund.

“If that’s the case, that’s completely unacceptable. We have a constitutional right to that ferry service. The Atlantic Gateway funding is a discretionary program to build up Atlantic Canadian export capacity through improved transportation mechanisms,” he said.

“I think within the department they are actually building in the Marine Atlantic funding as Newfoundland and Labrador’s share. That’s not acceptable. … That ferry service is not a discretionary service of the government of Canada.”
…
Gerry Byrne: “Is it really the Maritime Gateway? Or is it the Atlantic Gateway?”

Newfoundland and Labrador Politicians Ignore Golden Economic Opportunity

With an election getting underway in Newfoundland and Labrador the political parties will soon begin promoting their platforms in earnest and talking up their vision of the future. Most of their talking points will revolve around saving rural areas, economic development, outmigration and natural resources.

While the election goes ahead there is an opportunity already on our doorstep that can help revitalize some rural areas, drastically improve economic activity in the province, reverse outmigration and allow us to leverage our natural resources. Unfortunately all the mainstream parties are giving it very little attention.

As sad as the reality of the situation is, decades of government and industry inaction on global warming has opened up a major economic opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador. One that could dramatically reshape our reality, put us front and center on the international stage and drive massive growth. The opportunity is real but it will never be realized unless someone acts soon.

The latest satellite images show that polar ice is melting at a staggering rate, far faster than anyone previously projected. As a result, it was announced this week that the much dreamed of Northwest Passage is, as I write this article, ice-free and navigable. It’s a reality that will become more common place and last for longer and longer periods of time in the coming years.

While governments around the world spend their time disputing ownership of the passage shipping companies, oil and gas enterprises and manufacturing giants are wasting no time preparing to fully utilize the route as a cost effective means of transporting goods and materials worldwide. While those two camps are busily planning for this reality Newfoundland and Labrador's political leaders are all but ignoring it.

The ability to use the North West Passage as a shipping route will allow commercial vessels to cut thousands of miles off their journeys around the world, save billions of dollars in costs and increase transportation efficiency by allowing the use of so called Post Panamax vessels, ships far too large to navigate the Panama Canal.

Already B.C. is touting the passage as an “express trade corridor” to Asia. The developers of a new shipping terminal that opened in Prince Rupert this week are banking on a largely ice free passage to cut more than two days and nine thousand kilometers off shipment times between Europe and Asia. This will result in huge savings for industry and open up unheard of opportunities for northern ports.

Considering that B.C. sits on Canada’s west coast approaches to the North West Passage it makes perfect sense that the province should position itself as a preferred port of call. The question then becomes, why is Newfoundland and Labrador not doing more to ensure its full participation in this new world reality?

Just as BC sits on Canada’s Western approaches to the North West Passage, Newfoundland and Labrador, not Nova Scotia, sits on its eastern approaches. Why then have talks been underway for years regarding an Atlantic Gateway concept that would see Nova Scotia take full advantage of the situation instead of the true Atlantic Gateway province Newfoundland and Labrador?




A quick look at any map of North America clearly indicates that Newfoundland and Labrador is in a perfect location to act as a port of call for ships traversing the passage on their way to and from Europe or up the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The province sits on the most easterly edge of North America, is closer to Europe than any other North American port and, in the case of large Post Panamax vessels, needing to offload to smaller ships that can navigate the St. Lawrence Seaway, the straits between Labrador and Newfoundland provide much easier access than does Nova Scotia.

So why are no major plans being touted for the province?

Newfoundland and Labrador has many available ports that could serve as trans-shipment points. Some have very deep water and remain ice free all year round. While others, especially in Labrador, ice over in winter, the fact that shipping activity will only take place in the North during times when the North West Passage is ice free means this would does not pose a problem.

In addition to the province’s ideal geographical position between North America and Europe, it is also in a unique economic position because of its distinct relationship with France.

Just off the Newfoundland coast sit the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. Due to the historical ties and physical proximity of these two French islands, special trade and co-operation agreements already exist that can be built upon to take full advantage of Canada’s NAFTA and France’s EU trade regulations in conjunction with new shipping opportunities.

Taking full advantage of this situation could bring new life and much needed employment to dying rural areas. It would allow Newfoundland and Labrador to once again adopt its historical position as a key international port of call. In addition to direct shipping activity, the influx of products and raw materials from around the world would also open up growth opportunities in manufacturing and help reduce the cost of importing consumer goods to the province.

So why is Newfoundland and Labrador so slow in getting out of the starting gate? This is not a new idea so why is nobody acting on it? There are individuals like, local entrepeneur David Rudofsky, who have been promoting this opportunity to government for years. Nobody seems to care.

With Nova Scotia already touting itself as the new Atlantic Gateway some people believe it’s already be too late for Newfoundland and Labrador to make its mark. I don’t believe that for a minute. Our neighbors in the Maritimes may be promoting themselves for this role but as I said in my opening, wanting something doesn’t make it so.

Business and industry operate under some pretty basic principles when you get right down to it. While Ottawa, for political reasons, may support one province over another when it comes to development funding and assistance the companies involved couldn’t care less about the politics of the situation. Their only interest is in finding the most cost effective means to produce and market their products. No matter what anyone says, if utilizing facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador can save them time and money over going somewhere else, that’s exactly what they’ll do.

The problem is, unless someone listens and acts soon the international business community will never get to make that choice.

The reality of today is not what it was a few years ago. New challenges and new opportunities abound, so why isn't this opportunity even a matter of discussion during the current election?