Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I wanted to thank you for giving the Canadian Ferry Association a voice at the committee.
Our members transport over 55 million people, 22 million vehicles, and billions of dollars of goods—at least, they did until COVID-19. Ferry operators have seen a dramatic drop in ridership, which is to be expected with the situation we're in. However, as they provide a vital link to the communities they serve, we were asked to continue to provide similar services.
It's a vital link, yes, but who will pay the bill?
Let me first congratulate the elected officials, their political staff and the public service on the impressive effort to support Canadians and the Canadian economy during this crisis. However, when programs are created so quickly, they often need to be tweaked to better reflect the reality on the ground. This is not an exception.
I will raise three specific issues: eligibility under the Canada emergency wage subsidy program, with two examples, BC Ferries and the Ottawa River ferries; a program for vital transportation service; and the financial impact of temporary measures, should they be prolonged.
Let me give you the example of BC Ferries, which represents 35% of our sector. It provides crucial linkages to coastal communities in British Columbia. Some of you are living in those communities right now. It is a private company created by provincial legislation to deliver coastal ferry services in the province. It has one owner and is a not-for-profit corporation, but for tax purposes under the Income Tax Act, it is recognized as being owned by the Province of British Columbia. Eighty per cent of its revenues come from ferry users. With a decline of 80% in traffic, the losses have been staggering for the company, in the range of $1 million to $1.5 million per day.
Due to the unique nature of its ownership, its only path for eligibility under the Canada emergency wage subsidy program is to be declared a “prescribed organization”. Provincial ministers have written to their federal counterparts, and we have raised this issue ourselves numerous times. To date we do not have a response.
If BC Ferries is not designated as a prescribed entity, rest assured that this will have a dramatic impact, not only on the company, but on the whole sector in Canada. BC Ferries is a world leader in its class and is recognized as such internationally. The impact will be felt on the environment, on employment and on the recovery of the communities served.
This committee could recommend that BC Ferries be made a prescribed organization under the act. We hope you will act on this.
Some of our members, mainly located around the Ottawa River in Quebec and Ontario, as another example, are not eligible for the Canada emergency wage subsidy program as they had no revenues in March, April and May of 2019. This is due to the flooding that year from the Ottawa River, which prevented them from operating their ferries until mid-June to late June of 2019. These operators, their employees and the communities they serve see themselves victimized three times: by the flooding in 2019, by COVID-19 in 2020 and now by the inflexibility of the program. Surely we can't turn to them and say that they would have qualified if only one disaster had hit them but not if they have two disasters. Common sense will hopefully prevail.
We also need a program for vital transportation services, especially for those regulated by the federal government, regardless of the technicality of who owns them. They provide a service that is vital for Canadians and they need to be supported. They include private companies such as Oceanex, municipalities, first nations and provincial agencies. We can't ask organizations to keep delivering services for extended periods of time while getting no or almost no revenues from them and receiving no support.
I would like to raise one last issue. We also need to look at the impact of rules put in place by Transport Canada. One of those rules, as an example, asks that operators in some cases limit ridership to 50% of their usual capacity. This rule ends on June 30, but could be extended. If it is, who will compensate ferry operators for the continuing losses they will incur? We need some clarity on this question.
We have raised these issues numerous times. Most senior public servants we've talked to indicate that we're making a compelling case for both BC Ferries and our members affected by the flood to be included in the Canada emergency wage subsidy program. We just need to get it done. There is a clear need for organizations that provide vital links for Canadians. The government needs to urgently provide clarity.
Thank you.