Summary of stakeholder engagement – Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Pilotage Act Review Roundtable – Prince Rupert, British Columbia

December 6, 2017 – 9:00am – 3:45pm

• Summary of Discussion
• Governance
• Safety
• Labour and Economics
• Tariffs
• Traffic and Marine Life
• Licensing and Enforcement
• Legislative Process

Summary of Discussion

The participants presented their concerns and views on the Pilotage Act and potential areas for reform. We have grouped the comments under the following themes:

Governance

Participants:

• Raised significant concerns about the Pacific Pilotage Authority’s (PPA) Board of Directors. They expressed:
  • Unanimous support for adding Indigenous members to the Board with:
    • A desire to discuss nomination methods
    • Suggestion to raise number of members on Board from 7 to 9 to include more Indigenous representation and public members
    • Strong desire to enshrine Indigenous representation in legislation
    • Discussion of the need to find the right person with experience, local knowledge, and ability to engage with communities face-to-face
  • Strong appetite to have at least one or more British Columbia (BC) representatives on the Board
  • The need for members on the Board who are fishermen from the coast, not farmers from inland; emphasize location of expertise
• Expressed strong disapproval for amalgamation; concern over centralization
  • The PPA has done some outreach; there is concern that local responsiveness may be lost with a national model
• Raised concerns about communication and information channels between PPA and Coastal First Nations (FN). Some:
  • Alluded to poor relationship with Port Authorities; lack of First Nation (FN) consultation and consent
  • Expressed strong interest in a suggestion to develop sub-regional communication plan
• Expressed some interest for a pilotage office in Prince Rupert, not just in Vancouver

Safety

Participants expressed:

• No tolerance for compromising on safety
  • They are concerned that efficiency has become a term for cutting costs; shippers to manage risks, since damage is seen as irreparable
• Significant concerns about relationship with Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). They:
  • Have strong concerns over autonomy and authority. When coastal FN try to make decisions, the CCG tell them it is not up to them
  • Want the CCG to remember the aid Coastal FN have provided in the past; and want to talk with CCG about providing even more navigational aid
• Concern that incidents happen outside one’s control. They:
  • Alluded to Queen of the North and Harper incident
  • Are frustrated that past concerns with booming cruise-ship industry were not heeded when voiced
  • Have little confidence in spill response; prevention is the best policy
  • Have concerns for response to Nathan E. Stewart
• Some concern over extent of control over who enters territorial waters and extent of protection from hazardous materials. They:
  • Support a suggestion to develop a tracking app to log vessel movements up and down the coast and the movement of dangerous materials
  • Want maps to include port land canal
  • Think the US has a superior tracking system
• Concern over possible decreases in compulsory pilotage areas; briefly discussed the need to increase the scope of compulsory pilotage areas

Labour and Economics

• Participants gave significant input to the topics of pilots and training
  • Want wide-spread emphasis on the benefits of Indigenous knowledge
    • Importance of local knowledge, reminder that Coastal FN are marine people, historic background established
  • Have a strong desire to form an Indigenous Pilot Association
    • Work in partnership with the BC Coast Pilots (BCCP)
    • Guarantee FN membership onboard vessels
    • Put forward a suggestion of naming 5 young people for the 5 communities
  • Suggest Canada invest in a Canadian pilot school; look into alternative models of training to become a pilot since FNs are typically more visual learners
  • Suggest greater promotion of pilot training to fill labour shortage; target people in Northern BC to join the CCG then become a pilot

Tariffs

Discussion centred on the following issues:

• The legislation requires the Pilotage Authorities to be financially self-sufficient, but is unclear on what rules the Authorities have to follow
• The importance of a challenge function
• Disbelief that prices may go down

Traffic and Marine Life

• Participants are not happy with traffic in territorial waters without FN input
• They expressed great concern that increased vessel traffic and marine activity will:
  • Increase traffic from 4-5 ships per month to 1 ship per day
  • Increase wake frequency and size through narrow channel
  • Reduce sustainability of marine life such as salmon, shellfish, and cod

Licensing and Enforcement

Participants expressed:

• Some confusion about the difference between waivers and certificates
• Some interest to issue certificates to FN communities; train FN people
• Some appetite to extend jurisdictions to avoid navigating without a pilot
• Awareness that enforcement will always be needed, and that monitoring is an important part of this
• Strong appetite to increase fines and seizures, though authorities must strike a balance to avoid causing bankruptcy; suggestion to triple current fines
• Some international concerns
  • US tankers go through territorial waters without being subject to the same regulations
  • Canadian government should outlaw US vessels without pilot on board
  • Uncertainty why PPA does not use certificate programs
  • Concern that territorial lands are not on PPA map
  • Desire to consider policies that discriminate between US and other vessels

Legislative Process

• Participants have real concern about the timeline of response from Pilotage Review.

  They expressed:

  • Pessimism that the outcome of their discussions will be considered in the process
  • Strong desire to enter another round of consultation before the Chairperson submits his report
  • Strong desire to feel the government is listening and acting on what it hears