Americas News
Canada Touts Environmental, Economic Value of Shore-Side Power
The addition of shore power facilities at ports including Vancouver and Halifax promotes both environmental and economic goals, Canadian Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt told an audience at the Association of Canadian Port Authorities' annual general meeting and conference Monday.
"We look forward to working with other ports to develop similar projects," she said.
Raitt said the Canadian government is working toward greater sustainability of the nation's transportation industries through a number of initiatives, including working with port operators and businesses to develop technology that coordinates the arrival of trucks and container vessels, reducing the number of trucks idling in queues at the ports.
She also noted that the government is increasing tanker inspections for foreign tankers in Canadian waters and developing plans to improve ship surveillance and monitoring, pilotage and tug escort requirements, and incident response.
The government will designate the Port of Kitimat, a hub for planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, as a public port, upping the safety and traffic control standards, and will review other ports to determine whether they should also have that designation.
At the same time, Canada will research non-conventional petroleum products like diluted bitumen to be prepared for the possibility of a spill.
In April, Raitt's predecessor, Denis Lebel, announced new funding for the expansion of shore-side power in Canadian ports.
