The Semi-Annual Meeting held November 5 & 6 in Vancouver offered a variety of perspectives and information to help members as we move forward into 2010. The meeting was well attended, with more than 60 members participating. This has been a year of extremes and some of the upsets and changes are permanent, altering how we do things in Western Canada.

There are two major market-based policy options available to governments looking to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions1: carbon tax, and cap-and-trade.

Beginning on July 1, 2010, BC will introduce a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The HST combines the GST and PST into a single, value-added sales tax. What does this mean for transportation?

The Annual Meeting held April 28 and 29 in Edmonton was well attended, with more than 50 members participating. Hon. Luke Ouellette graciously hosted the event at Government House, a great venue for dialogue.

Transport Canada and its provincial partners have undertaken a National Commodity Flow, Trade and Traffic Forecasting project, to better understand the freight movement infrastructure needs of the future. The conference emphasized the freight movements from and through Western Canada. It rolled out the preliminary forecasts generated by IHS Global Insight. The forecasts covered the period from 2008 to 2026, and included the full spectrum of commodities carried by all modes, including airfreight. The purpose was to discuss the outlook for freight demand and answer the question: can Western Canada’s transportation system handle it? 

WESTAC provides opportunities for Members to speak directly to Ministers about the transportation industry and its issues. On February 27, 2009 a dozen Members met in Vancouver with the Hon. Stockwell Day, Canada’s Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia- Pacific Gateway.