An approach to plan infrastructural investments to facilitate domestic trade
Osman Alp, and Meraj Ajam
INFOR: Information Systems and Operational Research
• February 2024
The volume of trade between two regions is shaped by the cost of trade, which is a function of infrastructural and political barriers. Governments can invest in the upgrade of their country’s logistics infrastructure to mitigate these barriers, decrease trade costs, and increase domestic trade volumes; but they need to decide which infrastructural project(s) to invest under limited budget. A bilevel, bicriteria optimization model is proposed to overcome this challenge. The inner model anticipates total trade flows among all regions of the country with a profit maximization lens of the transporters. The outer model selects the projects based on minimizing total investment costs and maximizing total trade flows. The novelty in this approach is in incorporating the implicit ‘trade barriers’ through a ‘trade cost model’ borrowed from the economics literature. The proposed framework is implemented in a case study originating from the Canadian Northern Corridor concept which aims to boost domestic trade between the provinces and the territories of Canada. The numerical study indicates that investments to upgrade and increase connectivity in the logistics infrastructure of western Canada should be prioritized over others.
The School of Public Policy Publications Infrastructure Policy Trends • March 2022
The use of REEs (rare earth elements) has become fundamental to many high-technology end-use applications including the electronics and transportation sectors, but manufacturers may face significant challenges to procuring sufficient REE supplies due to supply-chain disruptions and long project lead times for new mines. A strong policy agenda is needed if Canada is to position itself as the “global supplier of choice” for these minerals.
The School of Public Policy Publications Volume 14 • Issue 33 • November 2021
The lengthy regulatory and review processes to assess major infrastructure development projects and lack of long-term planning are often viewed as sources of conflict between the economic objectives and environmental conservation and culture and heritage preservation. Cancelled and stalled infrastructure projects can offer valuable insight into this and can lead to better decision-making processes around infrastructure development in Canada. For this purpose, this piece provides a retrospective look at the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.
Northern and Arctic Security and Sovereignty: Challenges and Opportunities for a Northern Corridor
P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Katharina Koch
The School of Public Policy Publications Volume 14 • Issue 20 • August 2021
This paper offers a distinct perspective by linking security and sovereignty to core issues of infrastructure development, climate and environmental change and Indigenous rights. By raising both potential benefits and security risks or vulnerabilities associated with the Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC) Concept, it reveals the need for careful, ongoing assessment by relevant rights- and stakeholders, including defence and security practitioners. The paper closes with potential research avenues that might be pursued to gain further knowledge and understanding of the security implications of the CNC Concept, and to explore possible ways to anticipate and mitigate undesirable side effects.
Constraints in the Canadian Transport Infrastructure Grid
Jean-Paul Rodrigue
The School of Public Policy Publications Volume 14 • Issue 6 • February 2021
Transportation infrastructure supporting corridors is complex, capital intensive and subject to an array of constraints in construction, maintenance and upgrade. These constraints include physical and environmental restrictions, level of transport demand, financial capabilities, construction and maintenance capabilities and costs, and regulatory oversight. Due to its geographical attributes, Canada has unique constraints on the development and operation of its transport infrastructure.
