Trade and Industry Committee
The Trade and Industry Committee is focused on policies that support investment attraction and access to markets, and the conditions to support manufacturing, export and emerging technologies. The Edmonton Chamber of commerce leverages a network of 320 World Trade Centres in 92 countries.
The areas monitored by the Committee include but are not limited to interprovincial and international access to markets, transportation, logistics and trade, trade policies and regulation, manufacturing and emerging technology industries locally, nationally and globally.
The Committee
Chair:
Alim Somji, Jaffer Inc
Vice-Chair:
Wray Steedsman, IDX a Converge Company
Members-at-Large:
Edy Wong, University of Alberta
Mark Evans, Complete Shipping Solutions
Jon Heisler, WSP Canada
Lea Storry, Our Family Lines
Aina Khan, SemTegra
Keith Revell, KR Models Ltd.
Barbara McKenzie, Metis Settlements Development Corporation
Brendan Kusiek, Capital Power Corporation
Allister MacIsaac, RIVR Solutions Ltd.
Jason Hofley, Punchcard.io
Trevor Caswell, YEG
This committee has shaped recommendations in Chamber advocacy throughout a number of documents this year from committee-specific letters to budget and election statements. Some of the recommendations this committee helped us make to government include:
- Accelerate funding for projects in areas with speeds less than federal targets of 50 Mbps for downloads and 10 Mbps for uploads.
- Investments in strategic trade corridors which includes the previous announcement of $100 million for the 2,000-acre YEG cargo hub.
- Initial investments in advance of the National Supply Chain Strategy to respond to ongoing trade and transportation challenges.
- Establish a national network of trade and utility corridors and rights-of way across the country including the proposed Northern Infrastructure Corridor initiative, to enable efficient market access from any province or territory to any Canadian coast.
- Make investments that support provincial supply chain infrastructure and capacity including:
- Investing in Edmonton International Airport (YEG) and regional trade infrastructure to support excellence in logistics;
- Collaborating with the City of Edmonton to establish a direct bus route between downtown and the airport.
