Federal budget pledges supply chain fix- but experts say it’s not enough

The extra money laid out in the budget is sure to help, but what's needed most is a cohesive approach to the overall flow of goods into and out of the country, experts say.

Ottawa plans to spend more than a half-billion dollars to fix supply chain issues, but experts say it falls far short of the kind of comprehensive strategy needed to address longstanding problems.

Last week’s federal budget commits $603 million over five years to support transportation network upgrades such as port or rail expansions on top of the $4.2 billion allocated to the National Trade Corridors Fund since 2017.

Backed-up supply chains can lead to price hikes, product shortages and delays, affecting everything from semiconductors to cold cuts.

But large-scale infrastructure projects are pricey. A proposed container terminal at a Port of Vancouver site, for example, is estimated at $3 billion.

Ottawa last year announced a national infrastructure assessment that aims to lay out a long-term vision and boost co-ordination among infrastructure owners and funders over the next three decades.

Experts say that can’t come soon enough.

The extra money laid out in the budget is sure to help. But on top of more cash, what’s needed most is a cohesive approach to the overall flow of goods into and out of the country, says Carlo Dade, director of the Canada West Foundation’s trade and investment centre.

“The government’s kind of under the illusion that if they sign trade agreements, goods just get put on a magic carpet and somehow arrive in foreign markets,” he said in an interview.