OTTAWA, Ont. – From sea to sea, the federal government is doling out funds to advance transportation planning and enhance integration and connections between transportation modes.

In a sweeping move the Government of Canada awarded more than $1 million to 13 projects funded under the Transportation Planning and Modal Integration initiatives, announced by Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

“These projects will help to investigate how we can better combine transportation modes for greater efficiency and integration of the transportation system,” said Cannon. “They also demonstrate the Government of Canada’s commitment and willingness to encourage innovation and creativity to solve current transportation challenges.”

Federal funding for these projects was built into the existing financial framework and is part of the Government of Canada’s $600-million Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program (SHIP). The program has two components: a $500-million highway construction component and a $100-million national system integration component. Under the Transportation Planning and Modal Integration initiatives, applicants can submit project ideas to Transport Canada, which then selects and contributes funding to the successful projects. To date, approximately $5 million in funding has been granted to a total of 45 projects across the country. Some of the approved projects selected for the second round of funding include:

* The University of British Columbia will receive up to $23,250 to develop a simulation model of the movement of seaborne international containers through the Vancouver gateway in order to model the benefits and costs of alternative security options. The model will represent the operational characteristics of all participants in the container transport chain.

* The City of Kelowna will receive up to $100,000 to prepare a multimodal transportation plan for the CN Rail/Hwy. 97 corridor running through the Kelowna.

“I am very pleased that a project that focuses on Kelowna has received funding under this initiative,” said Ron Cannan, MP for Kelowna-Lake Country. “This multimodal plan for CN Rail and Highway 97 will help to ensure Canada’s success in global trade.”

* The Regina Regional Economic Development Authority will receive up to $20,000 to complete a feasibility study for a proposed multimodal air-truck-rail container facility.

* Egidd, located in Quebec City, will receive up to $99,966 to develop a tool to optimize transportation solutions using an intermodal approach (road-road and road-rail), as well as a Web site to facilitate strategic cooperation, planning, decision-making and governance in order to promote intermodal freight transportation.

* The College Francois-Xavier Garneau will receive up to $54,631 to acquire detailed knowledge of current practices and future needs regarding advanced logistics and intermodality for businesses in the Quebec City region.

* The University of Toronto will receive up to $150,000 to develop a fully operational and integrated land use transportation modeling system for the Greater Toronto Area. The modeling system will support the analysis of a broad range of urban transportation and land use planning issues and infrastructure investment alternatives.

* The Halifax Regional Municipality will receive up to $57,000 to develop a business plan for the construction and operation of an inland terminal at Rocky Lake in the Halifax Regional Municipality. The project will build on the findings of a previous Halifax Inland Terminal and Trucking Options Study.