RAIL HIGHLIGHTED IN INFRASTRUCTURE FEATURE

Posted on October 2, 2023

The National Post recently ran a news feature called Advancing Canada’s Infrastructure. The piece featured railways’ sizeable investments into their networks and supply chains’ capacity, but it and positioned the industry as green, innovative, and efficient contributors tothe sustainable transportation network our economy will need going forward. 

It’s a short, must-read!

Team RAC continues to make the case to governments at all levels that supporting rail is smart public policy. An investment in rail is an investment in the green economy. With budget planning season upon us federally and in most provinces, we continue to advocate for a regulatory climate that incentivizes capacity-enhancing, private-sector investments. 

The RAC will bring increased attention to the support made available to railways south of the border. In contrast, Canadian policies – like extended regulated interswitching and the stacking of labour and other regulations – constrain capacity and hurt Canadian competitiveness. The RAC is pushing for accelerated capital cost allowance to level the playing field and stimulate investments. We are advocating for top-ups to helpful initiatives like the Rail Safety Improvement Program and National Trade Corridors Fund. We are also seeking other tangible supply chain solutions on behalf of our members. 

If you have ideas for our next pre-budget submissions, please reach out to Kevin Mason (link to email), RAC’s Director, Policy, Advocacy and External Relations. 

EXTENDED REGULATED INTERSWITCHING UPDATE

The resurrection of extended interswitching came into force with new regulations effective September 20th. RAC continues to demonstrate with government that this misguided policy is not rooted in facts or evidence.

Extended interswitching hurts Canadian competitiveness and drives jobs and investment to the U.S. It introduces inefficiencies, adds costs, increases emissions, and reduces freight capacity.

The policy is not about competition, it’s about regulated rates. Stay tuned for more on this in the coming weeks.