Manitoba Premier to Lead Trade Mission to China and Philippines

(Canada-Asia News – Government of Manitoba)

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger and Lt.-Gov. Philip Lee will lead a trade mission of 40 individuals representing almost 30 companies and organizations to the Asia-Pacific region later this month to promote trade and tourism. The 11-day mission will include stops in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Manila.

Premier Selinger noted the province’s new inland port, CentrePort Canada, is attracting a lot of attention in China. “One of the ways Manitoba is building its trading relationships with China and other markets is through its support for CentrePort, Manitoba’s new 20,000-acre inland port and multi-modal transportation hub, which is part of Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway and offers supply-chain options for companies doing business in international and North American markets.”

In 2009, Manitoba’s total trade with the Asia-Pacific region was $2 billion.

CRTC to Introduce 10-digit Local Dialing and a New Area Code to Manitoba

(CRTC)

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced that effective October 20, 2012, 10-digit local dialing will be required for all local calls made in Manitoba. The CRTC also announced that a new area code, 431, would be introduced effective November 3, 2012.

The transition to 10-digit dialing will begin on July 29, 2012, and will be gradually introduced over the following weeks. It will become mandatory by October 20, 2012.

At the same time, in order to prevent running out of telephone numbers in Manitoba, the CRTC is introducing a new area code, 431 as of November 3, 2012. This means that customers seeking new telephone numbers could be given a number starting with area code 431. Existing customers will keep their current area code and phone numbers.

Selinger Scuttles Talk of HST for Manitoba

(CBC News)

A harmonized sales tax is not on the horizon for Manitoba, Premier Greg Selinger said Monday. Selinger effectively put an end to HST speculation by firmly stating that harmonization would not be part of his government’s coming budget. Manitobans would pay $400 million more each year in taxes if the PST and GST were merged into an HST, Selinger said. A harmonized tax would be collected on such untaxed items as books and children’s clothing, which are exempt from the PST.

In August, when he was finance minister, Selinger said he was weighing the pros and cons of harmonizing the provincial sales tax with the GST after federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he was prepared to cut cheques to Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island to sign on to tax harmonization.

Selinger was named the province’s premier after winning a leadership contest against Steve Ashton on October 17. Selinger replaced Gary Doer, who has been the premier since 1999 and party leader since 1988. Doer announced August 27 he was stepping down. The next day, he was appointed Canada’s next ambassador to the U.S. Just two weeks before his announcement, Doer said he was seriously looking into the HST. When 94% of the country is moving toward harmonization, Manitoba has to look seriously at the pros and cons, Doer said at the time.

Manitoba Opens New Trade Office in South India

(Canada Asia News – The Hindu)

Manitoba Trade and Investment, through its representative in India, Global Network, has opened a trade office in Alappuzha, South India. The office will assist Manitoban companies with market research, information on doing business in India and facilitate business meetings for Manitoban trade delegations to India and Indian trade delegations to Manitoba.

In addition to Alappuzha, Manitoba Trade and Investment has also established a presence in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Global Network is an international trade consulting firm and Manitoba has worked with Global Network on numerous projects since 2005. The government appointed Global Network its Indian trade and investment representative last month.

Winnipeg to Become a Massive “Inland Port”

(Canadian Consulting Engineer)

The Government of Manitoba has introduced legislation to build a huge “inland port” around Winnipeg's international airport. The idea of CentrePort Canada is to take advantage of the city's location close to the geographic centre of North America. Winnipeg is located on the International Mid transportation corridor, which gives access by road and rail south into the U.S. and Mexico via the Emerson Border. To the west are routes into Asia via the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, while to the northeast lie air cargo routes over the North Pole to Europe.

The CentrePort Canada Act enables the creation of a corporation to develop and run the port on 20 acres of land northwest of the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. The inland port would be a massive trucking and rail depot, as well as having private distribution centres, warehouses and manufacturing plants.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper committed $100 million in federal funds to help develop the port when he was touring the province to observe flooding in the area in April. The total cost is estimated at $212 million. One of the first jobs is to build a four-lane expressway to link the port to the airport.

Canada Post is already building a new mail distribution plant east of the airport on 11 hectares of land.

Manitoba Designates Land in Winnipeg as Proposed Location of Inland Port

(The Canadian Press – Winnipeg Free Press)

The Manitoba government has identified a chunk of land in northwest Winnipeg as the location of a proposed inland port for Manitoba. The designation was made Wednesday under the CentrePort Canada Act, which also establishes a non-profit corporation to promote and administer the proposed port.

The plan is to use the airport and its geographic location in North America as a hub to import goods from Asia and Europe, then distribute those goods throughout the rest of Canada and parts of the United States by air, rail and truck.

The inland port designation also helps qualify the province and city for millions more in federal money to build new roads, rail lines and add new infrastructure like sewers and utilities around the airport.

Dave Angus, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, says this is the best economic opportunity for the province.

But critics say the plan is out of touch with economic and geographic reality. They say Minneapolis-St. Paul is better suited as a distribution hub, as it’s closer to major markets and also connected by rail to ports on the West Coast.

“All they’re doing is banging their head against the wall,” trucker George Smith said, adding higher Canadian fuel prices means more goods go through the U.S. rather than Canada. “There are not enough loads,” Smith said. “There isn’t an intermodal hub for that.”

Premier Gary Doer said this project won’t be Winnport, a similar plan 20 years ago that never got off the ground. “We have everyone working together now. Why didn’t past endeavours work? I don’t think everyone was at the table,” he said.

Last week, Ottawa and Manitoba pledged $85 million to fixing up Highway 75 from Emerson at the U.S. border north to Morris. The project is also being done, in part, to deal with heavier truck traffic heading north and south.

Bob Silver, co-chair of Doer’s Economic Advisory Council, said the hope is that when these things start coming together, more private investment will follow. That, in turn, creates jobs.

“Government will not build a building that says, ‘CentrePort’,” said Silver, president of Western Glove Works. “Private business will build the buildings when the infrastructure is there, the roads and sewers.”

Tory Opposition Leader Hugh McFayden said he supports the project, but want to examine the province’s plan to use tax-increment financing to fund it.

The TIF legislation, introduced on the last day of the spring session, is designed to create “tax-increment financing zones,” which are areas where increased tax revenue from improved properties are shovelled straight back into the same few city blocks.

Premier Doer Praises NAFTA

(Agio Press-GlobalAtlanta.com)



Manitoba Premier Gary Doer praises NAFTA and the benefits the trade agreement provides for the three countries involved at a recent trade conference in the U.S.

Manitoba Expected to Lead All Provinces in Economic Growth in 2008

(Conference Board of Canada)

Manitoba’s economy is forecast to expand by 3.7% for the second consecutive year, making it the fastest-growing provincial economy in Canada in 2008, according to the Conference Board’s Provincial Outlook – Winter 2008.

“Boosted by ongoing construction projects, robust domestic spending and an optimistic outlook for manufacturing, the Manitoba economy is firing on all cylinders. Its neighbour, Saskatchewan, is also poised for another year of strong growth,” said Marie-Christine Bernard, Associate Director, Provincial Outlook. “In central Canada, the sombre U.S. outlook will present a challenge for both Ontario and Quebec, but neither province is expected to slide into a recession.”

In spite of the slowing U.S. economy and the high Canadian dollar, the well-diversified manufacturing sector in Manitoba is being fuelled by large, lucrative orders for buses and aircraft parts. As a result, manufacturing in Manitoba is expected to grow by an average of 5.5% over the next two years, two percentage points higher than the national average.

Saskatchewan’s economy is also booming, with growth of 3.6% expected in 2008 – slightly below the province’s 2007 pace. High commodity prices are driving mining activity and boosting construction projects. In addition, new migrants are bolstering Saskatchewan’s domestic economy.

Alberta’s economy is cooling down, due to a five-year low in drilling activity, combined with weaker gains in retail sales and lower population growth. But the service sector is still anticipated to grow strongly, boosting overall economic growth to 3.3% in 2008.

Weakness in the United States is cause for concern for British Columbia’s forestry and manufacturing sectors, but the province’s domestic economy remains strong enough to produce real GDP growth of 3.1% this year.

The weakening trade balance will continue to erode bottom-line growth in Ontario and Quebec, and more manufacturing layoffs are expected. Still, healthy capital spending and decent income growth will support Ontario’s economy, producing growth of 2.1% in 2008. The domestic economy in Quebec is even more of a pillar of growth, thanks to federal and provincial tax cuts that will boost consumption. As a result, Quebec’s real GDP is forecast to grow by 2.4%. Both provinces can expect better performances in 2009.

In Nova Scotia, new private investment in capital projects and stronger manufacturing prospects should add to a vigourous service sector, producing growth of 2.6% this year. New Brunswick will benefit from strong mining and construction activity – offsetting difficulties in the forestry sector – to produce growth of 2.2% in 2008. Following a hiring boom in 2007, Prince Edward Island’s economy will increase by a modest 1.9% this year, although tax reductions over the past 10 months will support income growth.

After growing by 7.3% last year, Newfoundland and Labrador will post growth of just 1.5% in 2008, due to a decline in oil production. Download the forecast here.