The issues that surround transportation in this province don鈥檛 end at the borders, and at a time when transportation is under pressure, it鈥檚 important to get all of the provinces in the room to see what can be done. Saskatchewan鈥檚 Minister of Highways and Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit was recently co-chaired a meeting of the council of ministers of transportation and highway safety in Toronto with Marc Garneau to discuss the issues facing transport across Canada.
The meeting began with a conversation national indigenous organizations, said Ottenbreit, to discuss their concerns and bring them to the ministers, before moving on to other conversations.
Saskatchewan and Ontario pushed forward the pan-Canadian trade corridor initiative, which intends to open a trade corridor that is accessible throughout Canada, to give more land-locked provinces better access to tidewater.
鈥淏eing an export-based economy, it鈥檚 very important to get our products to market, especially in Saskatchewan. I think our issues that I was able to bring forward were very reflective of our neighboring provinces, but it was a great opportunity to do that as well,鈥� said Ottenbreit.
The meeting encompassed all aspects of transportation, from highways and rail, to marine and air. Ottenbreit said that air was involved in one of his main concerns, access to northern communities, and looking for more funds and flexibility to help improve northern airports, though the goal is also to improve road access. Ottenbreit said that his previous role as Minister of Rural and Remote Health has been a big influence on his priorities when it comes to northern access.
鈥淢y main focus in a lot of areas is because of the health aspect, my five years in health was fairly valuable in that. But, recognizing where we have some gaps, starting to fill those gaps, so we can have air ambulances moving in and out when we have to.鈥�
Safety was a major concern at the meetings, and the initiatives undertaken in the province in the wake of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy were a focus, whether that involved truck driver training and intersection safety. With a national safety code being considered, Ottenbreit believes that the lessons learned here are helping the province lead the way nationally.
鈥淪askatchewan has a lot to offer in our experience over the past years since the accident, but also some initiatives we have taken over the years. It was encouraging for me as a highways and transportation minister for six months to hear how far ahead we are of most provinces, and even the national government, when it comes to vehicle safety and commercial safety.鈥�
The goal is to get the entire country on the same page, to allow seamless transportation across the country. While he said that given the diversity of the country not every rule makes sense for everyone, the end goal is to get regulations largely uniform.
One area where the meetings were productive involved transportation of hazardous goods. The meeting came right on the heels of the derailment near Guernsey. Ottenbreit said it was an opportunity to advocate for increased pipeline capacity, as their goal is to get oil off of the railroad, and use the rails to transport other exports in the province, including potash and grain, which are much less hazardous to transport on the railroad. He also noted that the meeting was instrumental in talking about the right safety moves to make in the light of the derailment, including adjusting the speed limit imposed after the derailment, which was initially set at 25 mph.
鈥淚n the interest of safety, we can understand that. But when you look at the impacts of that, compounded by the blockades, it was really impeding our rail travel speed and access in the country. What I conveyed, on behalf of the provinces, and the people in the country I believe, and I believe the railways as well, is that while we understand the safety aspect we think it was a bit of a knee jerk reaction and overreach. If cars weren鈥檛 carrying oil, and they were out of urban areas, they could easily increase speed to something more realistic in a very safe manner.鈥�
The adjusted rules saw the speed limit kept for oil cars in urban areas, but added flexibility for other freight.
鈥淚t showed that they were listening at least a little bit, and we hope that they were listening to the other messages we shared.鈥�
The group also encouraged the federal government to do what they could in their legal power to clear up the blockades that are affecting rail nationally. Their goal is to get the economic corridors flowing again, and getting rail and truck traffic moving.
