Access to Asia-Pacific crucial for Canada, PM says in announcing new projects

VANCOUVER (CP) - Ten more projects to improve trade corridors between Canada and the Asia-Pacific region have been approved by the federal government. But Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a conference in Vancouver Friday morning that he doesn't want to steal Trade Minister David Emerson's thunder by announcing what they are.

The prime minister says the projects will improve traffic flow on road and rail lines and enhance the efficiency and safety of the routes used to move goods from overseas to Canada and vice versa.

Six of the projects will be located in B.C. and more details on what exactly they are will be announced in the coming weeks.

Harper was speaking at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, a private-public collaboration on how to strengthen Canada's access to the valuable markets across the Pacific Ocean.

He says that investing in infrastructure to help Canada tap into the global market is the best way to restore equality to all regions of the country.

The last federal budget committed $33 billion for infrastructure projects in the long term.

© The Canadian Press, 2007