Thank you. It's a real pleasure to be here this evening.
The Shipping Federation of Canada is a national association that represents the owners, operators and agents of the ocean ships that carry Canada's imports and exports to and from world markets.
We support the government's efforts to modernize Canada's marine transportation system, not only through Bill C-33, but also through several other legislative initiatives, including the marine sections of Bill C-52, and the amendments to the Canada Shipping Act and the Marine Liability Act, which came into effect this June.
When viewed in conjunction with the recommendations of the national supply chain task force, these initiatives represent the most extensive transformation of Canada's marine transportation system in the last 25 years, and one that is long overdue, given the shocks, disruptions and challenges the system has experienced since then.
As it relates to the Canada Marine Act, we note that Bill C-33 provides updated language regarding the act's purpose, which now extends to managing marine infrastructure and services in a manner that maintains resiliency and safeguards national security, and for managing traffic, including moorings and anchorages, in order to promote supply chain efficiency.
We view the references to “resiliency” and “national security” as important additions that reflect the increasingly unpredictable nature of the environment in which our supply chains operate and the need for greater flexibility in responding to those challenges.
Although we also support giving ports explicit authority to manage marine traffic, we would caution that this represents a very small piece in a much larger puzzle of solving efficiency challenges at ports such as Vancouver. Indeed, these challenges cannot be resolved without considering the broader context in which ships operate, and where factors such as rail and road infrastructure deficits, labour availability, labour stability, productivity challenges and rail performance issues, to name a few, all play a major role.
Bill C-33 also gives the minister new regulatory authority to compel users and port authorities to share information and data in support of marine traffic management. This represents an important first step in developing a national supply chain data and digitization strategy, as per the recommendations of the national supply chain task force.
However, if this strategy is to be successful, it will be important to ensure that data-sharing commitments by stakeholders are based on incentives rather than penalties and that the strategy's primary focus is on connecting existing digital platforms rather than building new ones.
In addition, government departments and agencies, particularly CBSA, must also be prepared to join the digitization effort, ideally by migrating to a maritime, single-window reporting model for collecting data from supply chain stakeholders.
Finally, although we will not be making specific comments on the amendments that pertain to the governance and reporting requirements of the CPAs, we believe that these amendments will require additional scrutiny and consultation if they are to gain the level of buy-in from stakeholders that will be necessary for their successful implementation.
Turning now to the proposed amendments to the Marine Transportation Security Act, we were pleased to see the addition of the new “Purpose” section, which articulates the act's overall objectives. However, we have concerns regarding the very broad criteria under which the minister may impose security-related measures, which essentially extends to any circumstance that creates the need to “deal with threats and reduce direct and indirect risks”.
Although we support the minister's enhanced ability to act quickly in response to threats or risks to the marine transportation system, the lack of specificity and details as to what qualifies as a threat or a risk makes it difficult to ascertain what constitutes a legitimate need for immediate action. This is important, because these broadly construed criteria serve as the trigger for the minister's ability to exercise the continuum of powers at his or her disposal under the act, which include not only the ability to make regulations, but also to issue interim orders, directions to vessels and emergency directions, which are outside of the normal regulatory process and the normal checks and balances that are accorded to it.
Finally, as it relates to the Customs Act, we note that Bill C-33 proposes amendments regarding the time and manner in which goods are to be made available for examination and the need for goods to be examined in a secure area, etc.
This raises serious concerns as to whether CBSA has the necessary facilities, infrastructure and personnel for conducting cargo examinations, and whether it has the necessary funding to address the significant deficits that currently exist in these areas.
This is a major and ongoing issue of concern in the marine mode, as it has been our experience that CBSA's current lack of resources not only impedes the efficient examination and movement of cargo but also hinders the development of new shipping services and market opportunities at ports across Canada.
This concludes my comments. Thank you very much. I'll take your questions.
