OAKVILLE CHAlVIB .. R --if-­ COMMERCE

700 Kerr St., Suite 200, Oakville, ON, L6K 3W5

January 11, 2016

The Hon. Marc Garneau The Hon. Catherine McKenna Minister of Transport Minister of Environment and Climate Change House of Commons House of Commons , Ottawa, Ontario K1A OAG K1A OAG

Dear Ministers Garneau and McKenna:

The Oakville Chamber of Commerce represents 1,140 businesses in the Town of Oakville. Collectively those businesses employ 33,000 people. We are writing to express our support for CN's plans to build the Milton Logistics Hub. This $250-millon private sector investment will provide important infrastructure to grow the economy of the Greater and Hamilton area (GTHA).

The GTHA's economy depends on the safe and efficient transportation of goods. Some estimates put the current cost of traffic congestion to the region's economy at $11-billion annually and the GTHA is nearing capacity in terms of existing intermodal facilities.

Without CN's investment, we believe there will be significant consequences:

• More heavy long-haul trucks will be added to major highways (one intermodal train removes 280 trucks, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.) • Businesses will not be able to take full advantage of the economic benefits of exporting to global markets. • The regional and national economies will not be able to continue to grow to their full potential.

Transportation is integral to 's economic agenda. Businesses in the GTHA and across Canada need access to international markets. In fact, transportation is frequently noted as the number one issue in the GTHA for residents and businesses. We believe that CN's proposed Milton Logistics Hub will provide infrastructure to improve the fluidity of rail traffic, and will better connect our region to a global supply chain.

Phone: • Fax: • Email: • Web: www.oakvillechamber.com The Chamber believes that partnership and collaboration is essential for a successful execution of any project. To that end, we encourage municipal and regional governments and CN to work together to address the concerns of the community to work toward resolutions and the ability to move forward collaboratively.

Sincerely,

Kerry Colborne John Sawyer Chair President Oakville Chamber of Commerce Oakville Chamber of Commerce

Cc: Pam Damoff, MP, Oakville North Burlington John Oliver, MP, Oakville Gary Carr, Chair, Halton Region Rob Burton, Mayor, Town of Oakville John Davidson, Director, Economic Development, Halton Region Dorothy St. George, Director, Economic Development, Town of Oakville Sean Finn, Executive Vice-President Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer, CN Paul Deegan, Vice-President Public and Government Affairs, CN Jim Gray, Senior Director, Public and Government Affairs, CN