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Mandate
The National Seafarers’ Welfare Board (“Board”) is comprised of shipowners, seafarers’ welfare and labour representatives, port representatives and government. The creation of the Board is aligned with provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006), and the Board has the mandate to advise the Government of Canada on issues related to the welfare and well-being of seafarers, while also enhancing and improving seafarer welfare facilities in Canada, and seafarer access to those facilities and other services that they may require.
Governance
The Seafarers’ Welfare Board is composed of:
Board executive
Chair
Debbie Murray, Senior Director, Policy and Regulatory Affairs Association of Canadian Port Authorities
Vice chairs (2):
Dan Kimmerly - President, Ships Officers Component, British Columbia Ferries Marine Workers’ Union
Jason Zuidema, Executive Director, North American Maritime Ministry Association
Secretariat:
Julia Murphy, Director, Seafarer Certification, Marine Safety and Security, Transport Canada
Scott Weatherdon, Manager of Certification Standards, Marine Safety & Security, Transport Canada
Board members
Seafarer welfare organizations
Capt. Yoss Leclerc, International Sailors' Society Canada
Chaplain Michelle DePooter, Ministry to Seafarers
Deacon Dileep Athaide, National Director for Maritime Ministry, Stella Maris Canada
Ray Hanna, Lighthouse Harbour Ministries
Rev. Judith Alltree, Regional Director, Mission to Seafarers Canada
Seafarer Unions
Albert Batten, Vice-President, International Longshoremen's Association, Atlantic Coast District
Joy Thomson, National Secretary-Treasurer, The Canadian Merchant Service Guild
Karl Risser, ITF Inspector, International Transport Workers Federation – Canada
Nathan Smith, ITF Inspector, International Transport Workers Federation – Canada
Peter Lahay, National ITF Coordinator, International Transport Workers Federation – Canada
Rob Ashton, National President, The International Longshore and Warehouse Union – Canada
Vincent Giannopoulos, Vice-President, St. Lawrence and East Coast, Seafarers' International Union of Canada
Industry
Chad Allen, Director, Marine Operations, Shipping Federation of Canada
Clifford Faleiro, Senior Operations Manager North America, Saga Welco AS
Jean-François Belzile, Harbour Master and Director of Marine Operations, Montreal Port Authority
Karen Kancens, Vice-President, Shipping Federation of Canada
Lanna Hodgson, Secretary General, International Ship-owners Alliance of Canada
Paul Topping, Director, Regulatory & Environmental Affairs, Chamber of Marine Commerce
Robert Lewis-Manning, President, Chamber of Shipping
Meeting agendas
2023
- September 28, 2023 (PDF, 83 KB)
- February 28, 2023 (PDF, 129 KB)
2022
- February 17, 2022 (PDF, 133 KB)
- April 14, 2022 (PDF, 143 KB)
- June 16, 2022 (PDF, 138 KB)
- September 15, 2022 (PDF, 131 KB)
- November 7, 2022 (PDF, 128 KB)
- December 8, 2022 (PDF, 132 KB)
2021
- February 12, 2021 (PDF, 444 KB)
- March 26, 2021 (PDF, 442 KB)
- May 6, 2021 (PDF, 659 KB)
- June 17, 2021 (PDF, 443 KB)
- July 27, 2021 (PDF, 458 KB)
- November 3, 2021 (PDF, 143 KB)
- December 9, 2021 (PDF, 133 KB)
2020
- October 27, 2020 (PDF, 439 KB)
- December 10, 2020 (PDF, 444 KB)
Related links
- Transport Canada and marine stakeholders establish the Seafarers’ Welfare Board
- Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended