Industry Coalition Supports Government’s Pilotage Reform

The Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC) sent a letter to the Government of Canada, co-signed by fourteen leading industry associations, supporting government changes to Canada’s system of marine pilotage. The coalition of associations – referred to as Canada’s Marine Shipper and Manufacturing Industry Stakeholders – includes:

• Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and CEO, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce • Michel Kelly-Gagnon, President, Conseil du Patronat du Québec • Raymond Johnston, President of the Chamber of Marine Commerce • Gordon Peeling, President and CEO, Mining Association of Canada • Avrim Lazar, President and CEO, Forest Products Association of Canada • Pierre Alvarez, President and CEO, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers • Jayson Myers, President, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters • Nicole Trépanier, Executive Director, St. Lawrence Shipoperators • Don Morrison, President, Canadian Shipowners Association • Bob Ballantyne, President, Canadian Industrial Transportation Association • Paul Richard, President, Halifax Shipping Association • Roger Larson, President, Canadian Fertilizer Institute • Richard Hanneman, President, Salt Institute • Pierre Boucher, President and CEO, Cement Association of Canada

Providing a sense of industry frustration with the slow pace of pilotage reform, the coalition notes, “Canadian industry has grown tired of paying exorbitant fees to pilotage monopolies for services and operations which are run at less than optimal efficiency.” And although the coalition is not 100% in favour of all elements of the government’s Pilotage Act amendments put forward in Bill C-64, the signatories “believe, overall, that Bill C-64 does represent a first step towards remedying our ailing pilotage system.”