Prince Rupert Port Plan May Be Sinking

I think that the headline writer for Friday, July 22's Globe and Mail made a mistake.

To the headline writer, I would suggest the headline for the story by William Mbaho, referring to tunnel vision might have better applied to the story by Mary Lynn Young.

On the inside pages of the Report On Business, Young continued to display her ignorance of the reasons why the Prince Rupert port plan could benefit the Port of Vancouver, and improve Canada's ability to trade with the world, outside of the American Kingdom.

The Port of Vancouver and Prince Rupert could work in tandem. The Port of Prince Rupert would allow shippers who want fast access to the Eastern Seaboard, direct and timely access via rail, on CN tracks. It would be a direct off load to rail, instead of the being off-loaded to trucks. In fact now with CN owning B.C. Rail they can also off load and ship down the west coast of North America with little effort.

This would be the reason for using Prince Rupert.

No one that I have talked to is silly enough to think they would off load on to a truck to ship the containers to any where in Canada.

Shippers could dedicate a boat for this purpose, and leave the boats that serve Vancouver to serve the local Vancouver market with truck or rail, and Los Angeles to do what it does best for the purposes it is used.

Yes, the Port of Vancouver does handle cargo destined for Vancouver and area itself, but that is no reason to have the shipping system of the nation plugged up and held hostage to small thinkers such as those who cannot see the benefits to both the nation and the Port of Vancouver to have the Port of Prince Rupert come of age.

Purely to protect their bureaucratic turf.

Mary Lynn Young should really come down out of the Ivory Tower and see for herself that there is a better way of looking at how best to put Canada back on the map as a maritime trading nation. It is would be best if she would use a pair of binoculars instead of the rear view mirror she is now using for looking into the future.