On March 24, 2016, the Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics (GCEL) and the Business Council of Canada formally initiated the Canada Shipment and Trade Efficiency Assessment (SEA) at the Council’s headquarters in Ottawa, Canada.
The Business Council of Canada is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization comprising chief executive officers of major Canadian corporations that collectively administer CAD 4.5 trillion in assets with a workforce totaling more than 1.4 million people.
The attending the case study team included officials from Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the C.D. Howe Institute, the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers (CSCB), the International Federation of Customs Brokers Associations (IFCBA), the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters (I.E Canada), and the Supply Chain Management Association.
Since the 2008 global financial crisis, the Canadian economy has seen a modest return to growth as it remains challenged by volatile oil prices, sensitivity to the Eurozone crisis, and higher-than-normal unemployment rates. In order to diversify exports, the federal government and many Canadian industries have expanded trade with growing Asian markets.
With one of the world’s highest levels of internet access in the world, Canada’s focus on digitizing its supply chains to improve trade efficiency will provide the foundation to increase its exports and generate millions of new jobs.