Good morning, Madam Chair and committee.
As a long-time pilot and member of the executive of the Canadian Marine Pilots' Association, the CMPA, I welcome this opportunity to talk about the role that pilots play in Canada's transportation system.
I understand that you will be in Vancouver later this week, and two of my colleagues from the Pacific region will also be participating in your study.
Pilots are responsible for safely conducting commercial vessels through designated high-risk waters. Pilotage is regulated pursuant to the framework established by the Pilotage Act. Over the years, pilots have contributed significantly to various legislative and regulatory processes initiated by the federal government to improve the safety and competitiveness of shipping.
The CMPA is a member of the International Maritime Pilots' Association, IMPA, which represents pilots from over 50 countries around the world. Incidently, the CMPA's president, Captain Simon Pelletier, has also been IMPA's president since 2014, and was recently re-elected for another four-year period.
First and foremost, Canada's pilot system is focused on ensuring that safety is the first priority. Pilots are proud of their record. There are 50,000 pilot assignments that take place every year in Canada, and 99.99% of them unfold without incident. This near-perfect safety record, in a context where the average size of vessels is constantly increasing on waterways that, for their part, remain the same, greatly contributes to the competitiveness of Canada's maritime trade corridors.
Pilots also play an important role in navigation efficiency and the development of navigational improvements. The first importance is the benefit to the efficiency of supply chain operations and the near certainty that pilotage provides that access to critical marine infrastructure will not be compromised.
Pilots have developed innovative practices for navigation on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, thereby extending the operating seasons of both the seaway and ports on the river, especially Montreal. Also, nighttime navigation during the winter on the St. Lawrence has been greatly enhanced in recent years by the innovative application by pilots of e-navigation and portable pilot units.
The positive impact of an extended navigation season in the Great Lakes region, and the vital role that pilots play in facilitating this when seasonal aids like lighted buoys are not available to ships—that is, when the Coast Guard has either removed or not yet installed them at the beginning and the end of the season—was substantiated by a case study that I have shared with the committee.
I believe that the case study makes a compelling demonstration of the marine mode's competitive advantage as the most cost-effective means for moving grain and other commodities and of the key contribution of pilotage towards this. The case study is part of a larger study analyzing the cost-benefit of pilotage in Canada, which is available on the CMPA's website.
There is another dimension to the Great Lakes trade corridor that highlights the flexibility of Canada's pilotage system and the role it plays in maximizing efficiency. Despite the compulsory nature of Canada's pilotage regime, Canadian shipping companies can avoid having to engage pilots and therefore paying pilotage costs, by taking advantage of provisions in the Pilotage Act regarding pilotage certificates.
Pilotage certificates may be issued to Canadian ship officers who have demonstrated skill and local knowledge of the waters of the compulsory pilotage area equivalent to that required of a pilot. This approach is widely used by Canadian companies throughout the Great Lakes region, and it is also available in other regions of the country.
In closing, I know that one of your focuses has to do with what can be done to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of our trade corridors. Recognizing the important return on investment for both safety and approved operations, we believe that the Government of Canada should undertake the capital projects necessary to ensure adequate and reliable icebreaking, as well as optimally functioning buoys on Canada's waterways, and in particular on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence waterway.
I thank you for your attention and will welcome questions.