Prairies Agreement Supports Movement Of Products

The Manitoba government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta to advance economic corridors and support the movement of products within western Canada and to various markets. The strategies include a trade and commerce initiative to increase the proportion of strategic highway networks able to accommodate the heaviest truck loadings from 30 to 35 per cent over time. As well, the strategy should remove all at-grade access points, increasing lane capacity to meet the transport-based economic needs and travel demands as the capital region approaches one million people by 2035. The provinces also need to develop a sustainable northern economic corridor through the Port of Churchill and invest in servicing infrastructure to support the expansion and future development of CentrePort South, the tri-modal dry port and Foreign Trade Zone located partly in northwest Winnipeg, MB. The MOU will promote co-operation on matters such as improving joint highway planning, efficiency measures supporting trade, joint advocacy on federal regulatory and funding issues impacting prairie transportation-based trade, and assessing private-sector investments and Indigenous partnerships in improving or developing new economic corridors.