Transport committee  Realistically, with all these questions in regard to SMS and the transportation of dangerous goods, it still goes back to one of the best things we can use and that is having open lines of discussion between Transport Canada and the shipowner. That open line of communication, in the last 10 years, has gone so far in helping everyone be successful in what we need to do, and that is to transport our cargo, whether it's grain, salt, oil, or passengers, in a safe manner.

Transport committee  I think Captain Nelson wanted to weigh in on that.

Transport committee  The size of the vessel doesn't matter. You can still ask a classification society to opt in. But it's the classification society that has the ability to say, thank you for thinking of us, however, we don't like what you have, so there are four more down the road, you can go and ask them.

Transport committee  The problem is that their charters, from wherever their headquarters are, stipulate who they can and cannot take in as members.

Transport committee  It's not that it's not as safe but that any SMS in order to be active and functional must be audited.

Transport committee  Correct.

Transport committee  Yes. We fully believe in the process of the SMS; it's the process leaving Transport and the cost being charged to the individual.

Transport committee  Probably one of the biggest ones in the news today is the tragic loss of the South Korean ferry, where the government is looking at the death penalty for the captain. Would that happen here? Let's sure hope not.

Transport committee  Exactly. With regard to the process in which an inspection is dealt with, the safety of those concerned in operating vessels here in Canada is extremely high. We know it is our livelihood, and we want to have the safest vessels operating. For me to speak on another country's inspection processes, I couldn't do that, I'm sorry.

Transport committee  Correct.

Transport committee  I would. For some things there's an economic look at the regulation for the businesses at hand to ensure that there isn't undue stress on the business because of that.

Transport committee  The Transport Canada inspector comes and inspects either the crew or the ship itself. The classification society would come to inspect the SMS and audit the different processes and sections within the SMS unless the classification society were inspecting the vessel as well, but the classification societies have the ability to say whether or not they wish to bring those specific vessels into their association because their charters will limit the vessels that they are able to take.

Transport committee  A lot of the SMS will go through the different aspects of the ship, and are very safety oriented, as well having the crew there to perform anything with the SMS. Probably the biggest difference is the cost factor between the two. The cost for the classification society, from what I have seen, is somewhere around tenfold what the TC inspection process would cost.

Transport committee  The transportation of any dangerous goods only comes into play with any of the short-run ferries that we operate within the association, and all of them are provincially run.

Transport committee  I'm sorry, but could you say the question again?