Transport Committee on Nov. 27th, 2014

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

That would be very helpful if we could get that, Mr. Chair. I think we just got a commitment from officials that we're going to get the details of these reallocations, these cuts, these so-called back office reallocations. The government likes to use the words “back office”.

I think it's important for all of us to see this, because Canadians see cuts of 27% in marine safety and they ask, “How do I square this? How can you run ads on television and tell me that things are safer with regards to marine safety when you've cut marine safety by 27% in five years?” Nobody in business believes this, by the way. Most people scratch their heads and say, “I don't understand this. And, by the way, you're spending $16.5 million in one fiscal year running ads telling me that everything is okay with marine safety.”

That would be very helpful, Mr. Chair, if we could follow up through you and the clerk to get the information that we need and that the Parliamentary Budget Officer needs to be able to evaluate the government's claims, so we can know as legislators whether or not it's true.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Thank you. Your time has expired.

We'll now move to Mr. Watson for seven minutes.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There was not a single question from across the way on the safety management systems or the transportation of dangerous goods. That is duly noted, Mr. McGuinty.

Thank you, of course, to our witnesses for appearing here today. We appreciate your testimony.

I have a few questions, first of all, to clarify some of the testimony I think I heard today. I think it may have been Ms. Girard talking about the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992. I believe you said that doesn't apply to a tanker when the tanker itself is the container, if you will, of the dangerous good. Is that a proper articulation of what you said?

[Nicole Girard]

Yes, that's correct.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

It only applies to goods that would be otherwise contained or packaged on board a ship. Is that correct?

[Nicole Girard]

Exactly.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

What regime applies when the tanker itself is the package, if you will, or the container for a dangerous good?

[Sylvain Lachance]

This is under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, and all the pursuant regulations and international conventions that regulate the construction, operation, manning, and certification of ships of that nature.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

For clarity for the public then, an emergency response assistance plan is required in the case of anything that applies under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act.

You testified that ERAPs were for loading on or off the vessel, not required when in transit. In transit, what is required in terms of emergency response, to be clear for the public who are listening?

[Sylvain Lachance]

Do you mean for oil, sir?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Yes. Under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, or any other relevant legislation, what's required for emergency response when in transit?

[Sylvain Lachance]

When in transit or even when alongside, in the loading and off-loading of oil, they're required to have arrangements with a response organization in Canada, which are contractual arrangements with private entities to clean up any spill that could occur while in transit or while conducting operations.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

And they're not allowed to enter Canadian waters if they don't have that particular arrangement in place, correct?

[Sylvain Lachance]

That's correct.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Hutchinson, I think you said that, in the event of a spill, the Canadian Coast Guard would then be dispatched to monitor whether or not they are carrying out their proper duties. I presume that would mean whether or not the certified response organization is in fact doing its job in addressing the spill. Is that correct?

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

That's correct.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

You are dispatched by CANUTEC. The ship is required to call CANUTEC if it has a spill. Is that how that works, and then you're notified?

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

In fact, incidents at sea can be reported in different ways. It might be that we get that information through our MCTS centre, our marine communications centre. In some cases, something happening on the water evolves over time, so it comes in as search and rescue first and turns into an environment response after. The information comes in and we share the information across the partners, as needed. It might come from Transport to coast guard, or it might go the other way.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

I think I heard in the testimony that you manage three pollution incidents. Is that annually?

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

No, that's every day.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Is it prevalent in one particular jurisdiction as opposed to any other? Is it more prevalent on the east coast? Are we talking about in the north or on the west coast, or are we talking about the Great Lakes? Where are these incidents of pollution most prevalent?

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

I don't have with me the regional breakdown of those incidents. I can tell you that the vast majority of these incidents are very small, such as a yacht that has run aground and that kind of thing. We're not talking about three tanker-sized incidents a day. We're generally talking about very small incidents, and they can be from very small craft up to more sizable ships.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Obermeyer, with respect to pilotage associations, if a major change is proposed in terms of operations, be that geographic coverage, for example, or whether you want to make changes to what region you have authority over or operate in, a risk assessment is required. Is that correct?

[Capt Kevin Obermeyer]

That's correct.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

For what types of operational changes and at what scale are risk assessments required?