Minister Garneau’s appearance before the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN) on Main Estimates 2020-21 and Supplementary Estimates (B), 2020-21 held on November 5, 2020

43. TRANSPORTATION ASSETS RISK ASSESSMENT INITIATIVE

FUNDING FOR THE Transportation Assets Risk Assessment INITIATIVE

Requesting $1,089,012 funding through the 2020-21 Supplementary Estimates B

The Transportation Assets Risk Assessment Program is seeking to access $1,089,012 in grant and contribution (G&C) funding for the 2020-21 fiscal year (FY) by requesting a late reprofiling of previous years’ surpluses via FY 2020-21’s Supplementary Estimates B.

Key Messages:

  • The source of funding is the $4.25 million over five years provided to Transport Canada in Budget 2017, to implement the Government of Canada’s Transportation Assets Risk Assessment (TARA) Program.
  • The Program provides grant and contribution funding to assess the impacts of the changing climate on federally owned transportation assets such as bridges, ports and airports.
  • The funds support the development of climate change risk assessments for federal assets. For example, the Calgary Airport Authority is currently developing risk assessments that identify climate change-related vulnerabilities on critical assets and operations at the Calgary International (YYC) and Springbank (YBW) airports.
  • Projects funded under the Program will help ensure that Canadians have continued access to transportation system assets that are resilient to the effects of climate change.

Background

The Transportation Assets Risk Assessment (TARA) Program provides funding to assess the impacts of the changing climate on federally-owned transportation assets such as bridges, ports and airports, and provides information that can be integrated into asset management and infrastructure investment plans. As of March 31, 2020, five TARA projects have been completed, while 15 additional projects remain in progress.