Evidence of meeting #134 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was wake.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Leslyn Lewis Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk, ON
Many of these families sometimes spend their entire summers on the boat rather than going on a luxury vacation per se. Isn't that also correct?
Executive Director, National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada
That's correct, and what's beautiful about that, as I keep coming back to, is the tourism impact that it bring. That family staying put and going.... I'm in Ottawa, so if I'm going up and down the Ottawa River, I can go to a bunch of different municipalities and go dock at different marinas to have lunch or dinner, and I'm staying local.
There are great opportunities. That has an impact on all of the local communities around boating. There are different factors, but there's so much more beyond just the boating and being on the water. That in and of itself is amazing, but there's a lot more at stake about recreational boating and being on the water with your families.
Conservative
Leslyn Lewis Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk, ON
It's the economy, yes.
Mr. Bankes, I have just one quick question for you pertaining to the Port Rowan Harbour. You mentioned the lack of funding for infrastructure projects. Is it possible to maintain a safe Port Rowan Harbour without privatization?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Sorry, Mr. Bankes, you're on mute, sir. Can I get you to restart your response and unmute.
Port Rowan Harbour Committee
Okay.
Yes, it is possible. Norfolk County has done a detailed study that demonstrates that it can operate it, and keep it open to the public, and fund it through revenues collected.
Conservative
Leslyn Lewis Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk, ON
Are you hearing from marinas that they're experiencing higher electricity, utility and operational costs? Does that have anything to do with the carbon tax?
Port Rowan Harbour Committee
Yes, everybody is experiencing higher costs, and are passing them on to the users. I would have to presume that part of that extra cost is the carbon tax, as we all have to pay it on fuel and many other things as well.
Conservative
Leslyn Lewis Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk, ON
What are some of the contributions of recreational boating and marinas to the local community in Norfolk?
Port Rowan Harbour Committee
It has a huge impact on tourism. People come to Port Rowan to see the harbour. They come by boat, they come by car. It has a huge impact on the tourism for the local shops and the areas of Norfolk County.
Conservative
Leslyn Lewis Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk, ON
Mr. Layzell spoke a little bit about the flares issue. Do you encounter any expired flares?
Port Rowan Harbour Committee
Yes. Virtually all boaters have flares on their boat, and we're all in a state where we just don't know what to do with them. We just don't have a proper disposal method, at this point, since it was cancelled.
Previously, we were able to take them to the power squadron and they could dispose of them properly, and now we have no place at all to dispose of the flares.
October 29th, 2024 / 5:35 p.m.
Conservative
Port Rowan Harbour Committee
I'm not really sure, and there have been no guidelines on how to dispose of them ourselves, as far as I'm aware of.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you very much, Dr. Lewis.
Next we'll go to Mr. Badawey.
The floor is yours, sir. You have five minutes.
Liberal
Vance Badawey Liberal Niagara Centre, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First off, congratulations and thank you, Mr. Bankes. There's no question that you have your hands full operating a municipal marina. I know, having some experience in my past life—past lives, I should say. I owned and operated a marina in Florida on the private side, and then as the mayor of the City of Port Colborne for 14 years, I had the Sugarloaf Marina—which I'm sure you're fully aware of—in our backyard and alongside your marina, operating really well on Lake Erie. Again, I want to congratulate you on that work that you're trying to do because I know how difficult it is, from the public side, to operate a marina on the limited dollars that your municipal council affords you.
I guess my questions are going to revolve around that in terms of public versus private and in terms of the opportunities where we can actually help you from the public side and bring the capital and operational expectations to you. I do know that Norfolk's marina, for example, has its transient slips, but it also has hydro-water slips. It has mechanics on site, lift services, winter storage, pump load services, fuel and the list goes on. I notice that you don't have that. I'm sure that a lot of that has to do with the capital resources needed to put those things in place.
I'm also aware of the federal contributions that have come about in the last few years to different municipalities. I know that in my area, Niagara, we've been fortunate to receive federal funding for recreational boating through the Minister of Tourism, through the minister of federal economic development in southern Ontario—FedDev Ontario—as well as through Transport Canada.
I note that you need about $21 million in capital to improve the marina. My question for you is this: What are some specific areas that you have found that we can partner in to invest? When I say “we”, I don't mean just the federal government, but also the provinces and the municipalities together to leverage that funding through programs such as those offered through the Minister of Tourism, through FedDev Ontario and through Transport Canada.
Port Rowan Harbour Committee
I'm not sure that I can actually speak to that. This is a volunteer committee, and I would have no authority through the council of Norfolk to apply or answer some of these questions directly. That's how I feel.
Liberal
Vance Badawey Liberal Niagara Centre, ON
Thank you, Mr. Bankes.
I'm not going to take my full time here because I'm not here to be political or partisan or anything like that. I'm more interested in the interests of what you need to ensure that your marina continues publicly. That's number one. Number two is that it continues to offer public access, as well as additional amenities that may attach to that public access—parks, splash pads and things like that. I know that in my community of Port Colborne, with Sugarloaf Marina, we have all of that—restaurants, repairs, opportunities to actually create revenue versus simply trying to keep afloat a marina based on the expenses we have, and it's really being a community hub. I agree that it is a tourism attractor. There's no question that the returns on the investments, regardless of who makes or helps make those investments, are a benefit to the community.
So, I'm going to offer you this: As the parliamentary secretary for transport, Mr. Bankes, I'm putting the politics and the partisanship aside. My interest—no pun intended—is in helping you keep afloat that amenity for the community. Let's touch base after this meeting—and I offer Ms. Lewis the same opportunity because I know that's her riding—to see what we can do to work and access some of those programs that may be available through the federal government, as well as through the province and municipality. Okay?
That's great.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you, Mr. Badawey.
Mr. Barsalou‑Duval now has the floor for two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. MacKinnon, I was listening to the various witnesses, including you, talk about the need for consultation. This prompted me to think about the fact that some witnesses so far have said that it might be worth implementing national navigation standards. I've put myself in your shoes and I would like to hear your perspective on these types of national standards. For example, there could be a ban on navigating within 50 metres of a shoreline at over 10 kilometres an hour, or on using a wake boat within 200 metres of a shoreline.
As things stand, every time your clients head out onto a lake or river, they must check the regulations in place. Wouldn't national standards make things easier for your clients? It would be easier for you too, when you launch new products. The associations compile the regulations and you must keep track of the situation in each municipality. Would your association benefit from having some type of basic rule to refer to?
Executive Director, National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada
One of your key points is the collaborative process. I don't know whether the federal or provincial government should take the lead. In the meantime, we can at least start these discussions in each province.
As a national association, we would be pleased to start this process. There are a number of provincial associations, such as the Boating Ontario Association. You heard from Rick Layzell, the association's chief executive officer. Nautisme Québec is another example. All these organizations want to get involved and try to resolve the issues that may be bothering a few people around the lakes. We're here to work together. Regardless of whether the federal or provincial government sets up the process, we have an opportunity here to work together and collaborate—