43rd Parliament223Government response tabledJanuary 25, 2021e-2837e-2837 (Transportation)MeganNorfolkPaulManlyNanaimo—LadysmithGreen PartyBCSeptember 15, 2020, at 3:22 p.m. (EDT)November 14, 2020, at 3:22 p.m. (EDT)November 30, 2020January 25, 2021November 16, 2020Petition to the <Addressee type="3" affiliationId="" mp-riding-display="1">Government of Canada</Addressee>Whereas:In February 2018, Transport Canada introduced an Interim Protocol, as part of the National Anchorages Review. This protocol has resulted in a 400% increase in coal and grain freighters parking in the Southern Gulf Islands;The protocol was supposed to last six months. More than two years later, the Interim Protocol is still in effect;No parking fees are collected, minimal safety oversight is provided and no local jobs are created;The parked freighters cause environmental damage to the sensitive Salish Sea ecosystem;These environmental damages include: ocean floor damage from dragging anchors, disrupting the habitats of endangered orcas and other wildlife, air pollution from diesel generators, as well as noise, light and dust pollution;In March 2020, a collision between two freighters in Plumper Sound highlighted the threat posed by the freighter parking and the potential for environmentally devastating fuel spill in the Southern Gulf Island region; andLocal First Nations governments and community members, area residents and community groups are all calling for the removal of the commercial anchorages from the Southern Gulf Islands.We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:1. Eliminate the 33 commercial anchorages throughout the Southern Gulf Islands;2. Improve the grain supply chain and terminal infrastructure, and evaluate the transport of U.S. thermal coal through the Port of Vancouver; and3. Implement efficient international shipping standards such as the ‘Just-in-Time-Arrival’ computer system to better facilitate trade and the Canadian economy.
Response by the Minister of TransportSigned by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Omar AlghabraThe Government’s goal for managing anchorages in Canada is one where commercial shipping is conducted safely for the benefit of all Canadians, while seeking to minimize the impact to the marine environment and surrounding communities.The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and third largest in North America. From 2011 to 2019, the Port has seen 33% increase in the utilization of anchorages due to the growth of Canada’s Asia-Pacific gateway and record levels of Canadian natural resources export volumes and large commercial deep-sea vessels. In 2018, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority handled 43% of all tonnage and 51% of all containers passing through Canada Port Authorities.Prohibiting anchorages in the Southern Gulf Islands, which forms part of the Asia Pacific Gateway, would have a negative impact on Canada’s import and export capacity. As a trading nation, the marine transportation system is key to Canada’s continued economic and social well-being, and anchorages are an integral part of safe navigation. Given the importance of this gateway, there are no current plans to eliminate anchorages in the near-term.Transport Canada has conducted analyses on anchorage congestion and usage related to key commodities such as grain and coal, and the results clearly indicate that multiple factors are contributing to the dynamic that we observe in southern British Columbia. These factors include supply chain disruptions, weather, labour and operations, as well as the growing demands in Asia that has led to an increase in exports of commodities from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.Transport Canada is aware that the increased ship activity and utilization of anchorages in the Southern Gulf Islands has been met with concern by local communities. Noise and light from vessels at anchor have been identified by them as significant concerns, as have impacts on the fish harvesting practices and cultural activities of local First Nations.The Government's vision for anchorage management in the Southern Gulf Islands is to reduce anchorage use and transits by commercial vessels as well as ensure these comply with a formal code of conduct. Such improvements should also be part of broader active traffic management measures —including the promotion of more collaborative uses of technology, data sharing and advanced analytics by port operators and users— to optimize gateway fluidity with a view to promoting supply-chain efficiency and mitigating the socio-environmental impacts of anchorages on Indigenous and local communities. Transport Canada officials are actively working with key stakeholders such as the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to achieve this vision.For example, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and Transport Canada, amongst other Pacific Gateway partners, are collaborating on the West Coast Supply Chain Visibility Program. This multi-phase, multi-year program is developing and implementing a series of operational planning and optimization tools tailored to participating industry members. With the support of the National Trade Corridors Fund, partners will be developing a program that will report on all commodities, additional modes of transport, and import and cargo, working toward a goal of having visibility into the movement of 95% of all cargo through the West Coast of Canada by the end of 2022.Tools such as these will support increased capacity and operating efficiencies across the supply chain by giving a large group of stakeholders access to a single and comprehensive record system for supply chain activity, as well as a consolidated end-to-end view of goods movement across the gateway. This greater visibility into the supply chain will optimize the performance of existing infrastructure and will facilitate the port’s ability to manage current challenges such as anchorages as well as meet the demands of future growth.
Coastal areasDockage facilitiesEnvironmental protectionGulf IslandsInterim Protocol for the Use of Southern B.C. Anchorages
43rd Parliament223Government response tabledMarch 13, 2020431-00043431-00043 (Transportation)ElizabethMaySaanich—Gulf IslandsGreen PartyBCJanuary 29, 2020March 13, 2020June 19, 2019Petition to the Government of CanadaWhereas: - Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) and Transport Canada have extended an "Interim Protocol for the Use of Southern B.C. Anchorages." for an additional year, until August 8, 2019- This Interim Protocol has included previously seldom used historical anchorages in the coastal waters of the Salish Sea, effectively establishing a long-term industrial parking lot for large international freighters, mostly bulk and coal carriers, with a destination of VFPA.- Inefficiencies in supply-chain management and inadequate infrastructure have resulted in congestion in VFPA and delays in loading bulk carriers. The result is a dramatic increase of freighters sent to anchor to outside-of-Port anchorages for longer periods.- Freighters anchored within the boundaries of VFPA are limited to a 7-day stay. Outside-of-Port anchorages do not have yet such a limit in time. Thus vessels planning to stay longer are automatically sent by VFPA and Transport Canada to park outside-of-Port in the area targeted by the Interim Protocol.- BC Chamber of Shipping continues to encourage the practice of paying demurrage fees to anchored freighters. The longer a freighter is at anchor, the more demurrage fees they receive. This practice provides a strong incentive to ship owners to remain idling at anchor outside-of-Port.- Since January 2016, the monthly average was 9 freighters sent to anchor in the outside-of-Port anchorages of the Salish Sea. As of July 1, 2018, at the end of the initial 6-month period of the Interim Protocol, the monthly average has risen to 23. This is an unacceptable increase.- Many of the historical outside-of-Port anchorages have not been used since they were designated in the 1970s. No consultation, environmental, psychosocial impact studies, or risk assessments have been completed prior to dramatically increasing usage of these anchorages under the Interim Protocol.- Despite numerous complaints from coastal communities, two petitions to the Parliament of Canada, and letters to Transport Canada Minister, no relief, accommodation, or compensation have been provided to coastal communities affected and no appropriate studies have been completed.- Under the Interim Protocol, VFPA and Transport Canada have been engaged in a scheme to routinely abuse outside-of-Port anchorages to achieve record profits without any consideration of the socio-economic cost or risk to the environment, wildlife, and coastal communities.We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the above and, once again, call upon the Government of Canada to suspend the use of outside-of-Port anchorages in the area targeted by the Interim Protocol until appropriate consultation, environmental studies, and risk assessments have been completed. In addition, we call upon the Government of Canada to require the development of a comprehensive strategy on the part of the VFPA, Transport Canada, and industry stakeholders, to resolve inefficiencies that result in and incentivize longer term anchoring of freighters.
Response by the Minister of TransportSigned by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Marc GarneauTransport Canada’s goal for managing anchorages is one where commercial shipping is conducted safely for the benefit of all Canadians, managed efficiently and to the extent possible, minimizes the impact to the marine environment and surrounding communities. In Canada, as in many other countries, the right to navigate including anchoring is part of the common law right of navigation. A ship is generally free to anchor temporarily and for a reasonable period of time in any appropriate location.  In addition, all vessels in Canadian waters, whether domestic or foreign, are bound by Conventions of the International Maritime Organization, to which Canada is a signatory and by applicable laws of Canada.  The Government of Canada recognizes that transportation safety, environmental protection and economic development must be aligned to ensure sustainable outcomes for Canadians. As a trading nation, the marine transportation system is key to Canada’s continued economic and social well-being, and anchorages are an integral part of safe navigation. Commercial shipping anchorages are selected based on the quality of their anchor-holding ground, shelter from high winds and proximity to shipping routes and port logistics. These criteria ensure the safety of vessels and their crew as well as the safety of other users of the water and surrounding environment.As part of the Oceans Protection Plan, Transport Canada launched the Anchorages Initiative aimed at creating a framework for identification of new anchorage sites, examining the management of anchorages outside of public ports and articulating best practices for ships at anchor. In 2018, an Interim Protocol for the Use of Southern British Columbia Anchorages was introduced in the Southern Gulf Islands. The Interim Protocol includes voluntary procedures to balance the use of anchorage locations outside of ports and to mitigate the disturbance to residents from light and noise from ships at anchor. Assignment to an anchorage in the Southern Gulf Islands is contingent on the vessel agreeing to the guidelines in the Interim Protocol as well as providing specific information to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) such as vessel length, expected duration of stay and reason for anchorage. The Port Authority then assigns anchorages as equitably as possible, subject to individual anchorage size restrictions, using a computerized queuing system that takes into account anchorage usage over the previous 30 days. The objective is to balance the usage, so that no single anchorage is in constant use, ensuring an equitable rotation of use through all suitable anchorages. It is important to note that the Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and third largest in North America. Since 2014, the Port has seen an increase in congestion and utilization of anchorages due to the growth of Canada’s Asia-Pacific gateway and record levels of Canadian natural resources export volumes and large commercial deep-sea vessels. In 2018, the VFPA handled 43% of all tonnage and 51% of all containers passing through Canada Port Authorities. Given the importance of this gateway, there are no plans to eliminate anchorages.  The Government's long-term strategy is aimed at improving the management of anchorages outside of public ports with a view to ensuring the long-term efficiency and reliability of the supply chain, and mitigating environmental and social impacts as much as possible. As part of this work, consideration is being given to understanding the safety, environmental and social implications of anchorage activities. Transport Canada therefore continues to engage with a range of key stakeholders, including port and industry players as well as Indigenous and coastal communities, to define and gather feedback on the key challenges they perceive. In addition, the department is examining legal, operational and commercial considerations that have bearing on anchorage practices and management. This work, along with the lessons derived from the Interim Protocol, will inform potential new measures pertaining to site identification, anchorage use and mitigation measures, as well as management practices more generally. Potential new measures will be advanced in due course, recognizing the complex nature of this issue.
Coastal areasDockage facilitiesEnvironmental protectionGulf IslandsInterim Protocol for the Use of Southern B.C. Anchorages