Archived News Releases

News Release - Manitoba

September 10, 2008

Province Introduces Legislation Which Would Create Inland Port Corporation



The Manitoba government has introduced legislation that would create CentrePort Canada, a private-sector focused corporation that would develop and promote Manitoba’s inland port and would build on the province’s well-established network of air, rail, sea and trucking route, Premier Gary Doer said today.
 
“CentrePort Canada is an exciting vision we share with Manitoba’s business community, municipal leaders and others who want to build our province,” Doer said. “This will allow us to create jobs, attract investment and take full advantage of our prime location in the heart of North America.”
 
The CentrePort Canada Act would:
·         establish CentrePort Canada Inc., a non-share capital corporation with a mandate to operate Manitoba’s inland port, attract and co-ordinate business investment in the inland port area and market the port;
·         designate 20,000 acres of land in the vicinity of the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport for the inland port to serve as a transportation, trade, manufacturing, distribution, warehousing and logistics centre;
·         support the fast-tracking of investment and economic development decisions based upon a single, comprehensive transportation, infrastructure and land-use plan for the inland port area;
·         mandate CentrePort Canada to develop a business plan and a budget for self-sustaining operations;
·         establish the governance of the corporation, which would feature a 15-member board nominated primarily from the private sector;
·         develop the inland port area in consultation with landowners, nearby community members as well as port users; and
·         protect the 24-hour operation of the Richardson International Airport.
 
The premier thanked Manitoba’s business community, the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), the Manitoba Federation of Labour, the mayor of Winnipeg, reeve of Rosser and other community leaders for being part of the private-public sector effort to build Manitoba’s inland port. The shared vision has allowed the fast-tracking of developments related to the inland port.                                                           
  
“The inland port is a major economic vision and an exciting opportunity for Manitoba,” said Dave Angus, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. “Changing global supply chains and increasing transportation costs are prompting international companies to rethink how they move their products to market. We have an opportunity to respond to this new reality and attract new investment.”
 
“The board of CentrePort Canada will be put in place quickly and with full community support,” said Bob Silver, co-chair of the PEAC. “A one-stop shop for investment information and decisions and easy access to serviced land with links to multimodal transportation options is what business is looking for. The new corporation responds to this need.”
 
“We are pleased the inland port is being developed in conjunction with airport lands,” added Barry Rempel, president and chief executive officer of the Winnipeg Airports Authority. “There is
shovel-ready land available immediately and a plan for future phases of fully-serviced land. With enhanced roads, rail access and cargo shipping, we have the assets to move goods to market. And we have access to markets in all directions, from the port of Churchill to Mexico, through Thunder Bay to the east, to the Asia Pacific Gateway via Prince Rupert.”
 
Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Ron Lemieux, who introduced the bill, said work is already underway on a number of initiatives that support Manitoba’s inland port including:
·         Provincial legislation was recently introduced to allow tax increment financing to be used to support development of the inland port.
·         $85 million in federal-provincial funding was announced last week for improvements to PTH 75, Manitoba’s key trade route to the south. PTH 75 supported $14.4 billion in Canada-U.S. trade last year via the Emerson Border crossing, the busiest on the prairies.
·         $68 million in federal-provincial funding for the partial twinning of PR 221/Inkster Boulevard, a route that is central to the inland port and a priority for the business community.
·         The Richardson International Airport is undergoing further expansion. The airport is the only unrestricted, 24-hour airport on the prairies and supports Canada’s largest collection of air cargo handlers.
·         $68 million for upgrades to the Hudson Bay rail line and the port of Churchill including $48 million from the federal and provincial governments and $20 million from the Hudson Bay Rail Company.
·         $55 million in federal-provincial funding for an interchange and rail grade separation where the two Asia Pacific Corridors meet in Manitoba, at the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway and
PTH 16.
  
The 20,000 acres of the inland port are within the City of Winnipeg and the rural municipality of Rosser and lie south and east of the Perimeter Highway, west of Route 90, Oak Point Highway and King Edward Street, and north of Silver Avenue, Sturgeon Road and Saskatchewan Avenue.
 
The leaders noted the area is already attracting business investment, with Canada Post, Greyhound Canada and Standard Aero all announcing new expansions in recent weeks.
 
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