Fisheries Committee on May 9th, 2017

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Robert Sopuck]

You have a minute.

[Robert Lewis-Manning]

The great thing about corridors is that you focus your resources and planning on corridors, just as you would on terrestrial corridors. If you do the proper planning, you're focusing all of the right science and all of the right technical expertise in a single corridor.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

I have two questions I'd like to squeeze in, Mr. Chair.

First, we hear the term “transparent and predictable” a lot. In your opinion, just quickly, how can we make sure that the process in establishing MPAs is transparent and predictable? I forget the other term you used.

[Robert Lewis-Manning]

Adaptable.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Yes, “adaptable”, which I'm more curious about.

[Robert Lewis-Manning]

I'll start with the adaptable. I think the important part about adaptable is that you need to measure over time. It's not good enough to do something, to implement something, and then not come back and revisit it. The ability to periodically review what you've implemented is important in order to make sure you're having the impact you expected to have.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Robert Sopuck]

Go ahead, Mr. Morrissey, but be quick. I'll be indulgent here.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Krusel, on fastness and reliability, there are two elements of that from shipping. One is when it's on board the vessel and moving, and the other is the timeline from when the product moves to the marine port, regardless of whether it's on rail or rubber, and the changeover time. How does Prince Rupert compare with other ports in Canada, and what impact does that have on the timeliness of moving product?

[Don Krusel]

The hand-off between land and sea?

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Yes.

[Don Krusel]

Thank you, because you're allowing me to brag about Prince Rupert.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Robert Sopuck]

Please brag quickly.

[Don Krusel]

I'll do that.

Because Prince Rupert is a non-metro port in a non-metro environment—

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

I'm a rural member so I'm interested more in that relationship.

[Don Krusel]

—we're unlike most of our competitors on the west coast, which are in major, large metropolitan areas so a large portion of the traffic—I'm talking about containers—is destined for that marketplace and the terminal is congested with truck traffic moving containers to and from warehouses within Vancouver, Seattle, or Los Angeles. We don't have containers going to and from Prince Rupert. They are immediately being off-loaded from the vessel onto the trains, and they are heading into the rest of North America even before the ship sails. We call that negative dwell. In fact, one-third of the containers coming off a vessel are already on their way to inland markets even before that vessel leaves the dock.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

So it would have less impact on the environment as well.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Robert Sopuck]

I think we will have to stop it there.

[Don Krusel]

Absolutely. It's the lowest carbon footprint port on the west coast.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Robert Sopuck]

Thank you.

Mr. Arnold, you have five minutes.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

For both of you, how many times has Transport Canada or DFO approached the shipping organizations with the goal of boosting transport through the ports, and have you discussed the impacts of MPAs if you have had those meetings?

[Robert Lewis-Manning]

Frequently now. It wasn't always so frequent, but there is a fairly steady dialogue between both departments and the sector to discuss the impact of conservation initiatives on trade.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Krusel.

[Don Krusel]

It would be a similar answer. There's an ongoing dialogue.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Who is responsible for shipping traffic beyond the areas covered by the actual port authorities? Once they leave the Port of Vancouver, once they leave the Port of Prince Rupert, how far out is that traffic controlled by the port authorities, and then when does that become an individual ship captain's responsibility, and who's responsible, and who are they accountable to, if there's an issue?

[Don Krusel]

It's a pretty small area that the port authority is responsible for. It's within our harbour limits, which is not that great at least in Prince Rupert. It's probably the same in Vancouver.

The Pilotage Authority has a Canadian marine pilot on board for a little bit longer, but then after that it is simply based on the captain of the vessel, and the typical laneways that he or she has the flexibility of taking out to the open ocean.