Mr. Chairman and honourable committee members, good morning.
Formed in 1923, the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia represents the full spectrum of international and domestic shipping-related interests in western Canada, including but not limited to international and domestic shipowners, BC Ferries, vessel agency companies, cargo interests, terminal interests, cruise lines, port authorities, pilotage, maritime lawyers, classification societies, marine surveyors, and marine support and service companies. In all, we have about 180 members representing around 80% of all commercial traffic doing business in the ports of British Columbia.
The importance of credible and robust accident preparedness and response capability is fundamental to all forms of transportation. Whether in aviation, road, rail, or the marine sector, we cannot deliver zero risk, but there is always the capability to manage and mitigate that risk.
In the marine sector, we use every tool at our disposal to do so, including the strict enforcement of International Maritime Organization and national regulations and values related to marine safety and the protection of the marine environment in all its forms; pre-vetting of tanker condition and history prior to entering Canadian waters; and Canada’s participation in two highly effective port state control regimes, the Tokyo memorandum of understanding and the Paris memorandum of understanding, under which each country undertakes to target and inspect a minimum of 20% of vessels calling at that country’s ports. In so doing, Canada enforces the highest standards of compliance, irrespective of a vessel’s nationality or the port of registration.
Also included among the tools we use are the compulsory carriage of electronic precision navigation and detection equipment and the compulsory pilotage of vessels by highly trained Canadian mariners having in-depth knowledge and experience of this country’s coastal waters and supervised by four federally regulated pilotage authorities. On the west coast of Canada, the Pacific Pilotage Authority administers the largest single compulsory pilotage district in the world. There is also the universal adoption of double-hull construction for tankers and the extensive use of highly effective tugboats to escort vessels in and out of harbour and otherwise as required.
The Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia is supportive of Bill C-3 for many reasons, including but not limited to the regulated adoption of the incident command system by the Canadian Coast Guard, the extension of pollution prevention and response to include oil handling facilities, the removal of legal barriers to cross-border responders, the commitment to expansion of Canada’s national aerial surveillance system, the commitment to expand the number of designated ports for traffic control measures, the commitment to expand scientific research on non-conventional petroleum products, and the adoption of electronic navigation capabilities to further enhance Canada's existing system of navigational aids to mariners.
In combination with the 45 recommendations of the tanker safety expert panel contained in A Review of Canada’s Ship-Source Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime, which was submitted to the minister in November 2013 and published in December 2013, we believe that Bill C-3 is a milestone in progressing the government’s objective of implementing a world-class regime of marine safety and preparedness.
We have already submitted our comments to the panel’s report. These essentially focus on areas of cross-border reciprocity within Canada’s inland waters; marine salvage and firefighting preparedness; a future role for the regional advisory boards; and future governance and reporting, including an annual submission to Parliament on the status of Canada’s oil spill preparedness and response in the marine environment.
On the west coast of Canada, through the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, we have spill preparedness and response capability far in excess of that currently mandated by Transport Canada. Even so, the west coast marine sector has been actively supportive of a review and upgrading of capability, in recognition of the fact that exceeding legislated compliance is not enough if the legislation itself is open to question. We have therefore long recognized that social licence to proceed with marine-related projects in the natural resource sector is dependent, at least in part, on public confidence in the level of risk mitigation and our state of preparedness in the event of an incident of any nature.
The 2010 report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development into the state of the Canadian Coast Guard’s preparedness for a pollution event in the marine environment speaks for itself. We are obviously very pleased to acknowledge the efforts under way to address the deficiencies detailed in the report, but this also underlines the dangers of sustained budget cuts over many years to an organization with such an essential role to play in spill preparedness and response.
Similarly, the 2012 report by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development into Atlantic offshore oil and gas activities revealed further specific areas requiring attention.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for this opportunity to appear before the committee. I look forward to taking any questions you may have related to our views on this important piece of legislation.