Great! Can we have the keys to the car now?

Canada’s International Trade Minister David Emerson has declared that Prince Rupert has come of age! After years and decades of speculation as the Minister put it, “we are there!” Wherever there may be. A great moment for the city we guess, which of course comes with great responsibility.

We now have to remember to take out the garbage (two bag maximum!), pay our taxes (please, please, please) drive safely (IRSU is watching) and on and on it will go now, no more careless days of wandering aimlessly, instead it’s time to knuckle down and show that we are worthy of his confidence.

The Minister came to his declaration to the Daily News with the news that the container port will receive $28 million to address marine security issues, part of the $321 million in money that various projects will receive from the federal government over the next four years, all part of the greater $591 million commitment of the Asia-Pacific Gateway initiative over the next eight years.

It’s the lynch pin of the Federal Governments policy in British Columbia, to make our province the entry way to the continent, of which the Prince Rupert Container Port at Fairview is expected to be a major partner.

It’s the project that has everyone apparently quite excited and happy for our future, a celebration of our entry to the big bad world we guess. We Hope somebody springs for the catering for the big party that must go with it eh!

The Daily News covered all the excitement from the Ministry in its Friday edition.

RUPERT HAS ‘COME OF AGE’ SAYS MINISTER EMERSON
Asia-Pacific Gateway announcement includes funding for border security
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Friday, October 13, 2006

Prince Rupert’s new container port will receive $28 million to address marine security issues. The funds, announced this week, are part of $321 million in money that projects will receive from the feds during the next four years and a $591 million commitment to B. C., as the Asia-Pacific Gateway during the next eight years.

“I think after years, if not decades, of people speculating about when Rupert would come of age … we’re there.” International Trade Minister David Emerson told The Daily News. “I think that the Asian market opportunities and our abilities to strengthen our competitiveness in North America is going to be really fundamentally enhanced by the Rupert portion of the Gateway.”

In terms of international logistics and transportation systems, B. C. offers two trade corridors – one through Rupert and one through the Lower Mainland – that will allow Canadian business to be globally competitive.

Within that framework, Emerson said the potential of the Fairview container port is “tremendous.”

“In terms of shipping distances, it really is the shortest distance,” he said. “Secondly you’ve got a port capacity there and the characteristics of your port- the water depths and so on- are really very attractive in terms of future shipping opportunities.

“Thirdly, you’ve got almost a blank page in terms of building a really efficient rapid-cycle time shipping corridor from Rupert right down through Terrace, Prince George and on to Chicago and points like that – that’s a massive opportunity when you think about it because so much of logistics and transportation these days is tangled up in urban encroachment and sprawl.”

The $28 million is designed to help the port capitalize on that potential by removing any possible “weak links” in the shipping chain as goods travel to the U. S. Midwest and beyond.

“That’s really to make sure that we have the security technology … (and) the border-customs security personnel that can make sure, when a container comes through Rupert, that we’re not going to get it caught up in the other border issues as it enters the U. S.” said Emerson.

“You can have the best railway and the best logistical system, but if you run into a processing delay because it hasn’t been properly assessed for security risks when you get to the U. S. border, then you’ve don nothing,” Emerson added.

The funds also help address concerns that the port would be left footing the bill for additional border personnel following the expansion – a position that was forwarded under the previous Liberal government/

“It’s the plan to ensure that there is no bias against Rupert in terms of bearing the costs of these kinds of services,” said Emerson.

“It’s just craziness as far as I’m concerned to take a project like the port of Rupert and start to impose charges that other ports do not face – that’s not what we’re going to do.”

The announcement has already come under fire from both the Liberals and NDP, who claim the announcement, is a watered down version of the previous government’s $501 million commitment that would have come through in five years instead of eight.

“One troubling aspect the Prime Minister’s announcement was the lowering, in fact, of how much money was going to be available,” said Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen.

“He’s taken the original announcement from the previous government and stretched it over eight years and in a sense cut the five year commitment by a couple of hundred million dollars.”

Cullen said he’s unsure what the federal government commitments are because they continue to make decisions based on ideology rather than common sense.

“Claiming this is the most important infrastructure investment in the country and then cutting down on previous commitment is saying one thing and doing another,” he said.

“There’s still a fight on two fronts – one to get more money into our region and two to increase the commitment the prime minister made.”

In response, Emerson said that the reason the funds were spread out over eight years rather than five years was to ensure they didn’t lost the spending authority to fund projects that would take more than five years to complete.

“We fully expect that this money will flow very quickly,” he said.