The Canadian Ferry Association would like to thank all those who attended the CFA 2022 Conference and Trade Show. A special thanks to our sponsors, exhibitors, and presenters for making this year’s Conference and Trade Show the preeminent event for the ferry sector in Canada.
We hope to see you again at our next annual conference from September 17th – 19th in Vancouver. Keep an eye on your inboxes for more details to come.
One month left before the Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) conference.
With a great list of panels and speakers, a wonderful trade show and with the event located in the middle of Canada’s national capital region, the CFA is getting ready to welcome its conference attendees.
If you have not done so yet, please register today by clicking here.
The Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) made a presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities today.
The purpose of the presentation was to highlight the crucial role played by ferry operators in the supply chain while also raising concerns about the vulnerabilities of the system.
CFA’s CEO noted that the ferry sector needs a committed federal partner to support the infrastructure changes that will strengthen the sector’s ability to respond to crises and proactively reduce our GHG emissions.
Please find, linked here, CFA’s submission to the committee.
Today, the Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) welcomes new Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
“We look forward to working with Minister Alghabra to continue the work begun by his predecessor, Minister Garneau,” said Mark Collins, Chair of CFA’s Board or Directors. “We hope to continue our strong collaboration with the government in order to reduce the marine industry’s carbon footprint, support ongoing conservation efforts, improve passenger safety and more.”
As the voice of the industry, CFA plays a central role in advocating on behalf of the passenger vessel sector.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, CFA has championed new measures for the ferry sector to protect passengers and crew members, which were announced in April 2020. CFA has also called for increased flexibility to the COVID-19 support measures to allow Canada’s transportation infrastructure to access this support.
“As the pandemic continues to impact communities across the country – big and small, urban and remote – we look forward to working with Minister Alghabra to find ways for Canada’s passenger vessels to access government support to ensure continued service for essential workers,” added Mr. Collins.
CFA also extended its thanks to outgoing Transport Minister Marc Garneau for his work to help the sector continue to bring passengers to their destinations safely, even during an international pandemic.
For further information, contact CFA’s CEO, Serge Buy at sbuy@canadianferry.ca or 613-720-1777.
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ABOUT CFA
In 2019, ferries in Canada transported approximately 55 million passengers, 22 million vehicles and billions of dollars of goods in communities throughout the country, from urban centres to remote regions. The Canadian Ferry Association represents the sector and its members include eight provincial governments, large urban municipalities, First nations and Crown corporations and private corporations (such as BC Ferries).
Transport Canada has updated its Guidance Material for Essential Passenger Vessel and Ferry Operators in order to provide greater clarity surrounding passengers refusing to wear a mask for medical reasons.
This issue was recently raised by CFA’s Board of Directors during a meeting with Transport Minister Marc Garneau.
Operators may now ask passengers to show their medical certificate if they are unable to wear a mask for medical reasons.
Included within the revised Guidelines:
Operators of passenger and ferry vessels should, when feasible:
Full updated Guidelines are available here.
The Board of the Canadian Ferry Association was able to meet with the Honourable Marc Garneau, PC, MP, Minister of Transport through a videoconference.
Issues mentioned by Board members included: the need for the department to better collaborate and consult with the sector, the ability for operators to ask for medical certificates from people claiming an exemption from wearing masks aboard ferries that require masks, new technologies, passengers on closed car decks.
The Minister responded to the questions, provided updates and made some announcements. He also committed to attend the next face-to-face meeting of the association.
The meeting went well and the Chair, Mark Collins, thanked the Minister for his time, his willingness to listen to the operators and his support of the sector.
Issue specific updates are available to CFA members.
On August 5th, the federal government announced a temporary program focused on funding quick-start, short-term projects that respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 Resilience Stream will allow provinces and territories to act quickly on a wider-range of pandemic-resilient infrastructure projects, such as retrofits to allow better social distancing.
Applicants submit their projects to their respective province and territory, who then prioritizes and submits to Infrastructure Canada for review.
For more information, click here.
In addition to this new program, eligibility criteria for other infrastructure streams have also been expanded for projects that can begin before September 30, 2021. This includes expanding the Public Transit stream to allow public sector commuter ferry infrastructure that are not part of an existing transit system to apply.
For immediate release
Ottawa, July 20, 2020 – The Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) is warning ferry-dependent communities that the lack of federal government support received by operators will impact the economic and social recovery post COVID-19.
While the sector has played a key role to transport first responders, essential travelers and goods to ferry-dependent communities during the pandemic, it has received no support from recent federal relief measures. The federally regulated sector was encouraged to continue its operations during the crisis even though it faced steep decreases in revenues, mounting losses and now added costs to adapt to the new reality.
“The Canadian Ferry Association is calling on the government to show more flexibility and support a crucial part of Canada’s transportation infrastructure,” said Serge Buy, CFA’s CEO.
Organizations such as BC Ferries, Owen Sound Transportation Company and the Société des traversiers du Québec are not eligible for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. While a small fully private part of the sector is eligible for funding, some are facing denials. One such example is the Ottawa River ferries that cannot qualify due to their inability to use 2019 as a comparative year for revenues as a result of the floods.
Other measures, including the recently announced $19 billion in transfers to the provinces, may support some ferries that operate as part of municipal transit infrastructure, but the vast majority of the sector is, once again, ignored.
“This lack of support for the ferry sector is dividing communities in Canada into those that take urban transit in large municipalities and those that rely on other modes of transportation such as ferries,” said Mr. Buy.
CFA will continue discussions with the federal government to help ensure that the sector’s contribution to the country-wide efforts during the pandemic and the recovery are properly recognized and financially supported.
The sector estimates its losses at over $450 million. The impact on ferry-dependent communities could include reduction in services, fleet renewal delays, cancellation of shore-based infrastructure projects and delays in implementation of green energy projects.
See the official Press Release here.
For further information, contact CFA’s CEO, Serge Buy at sbuy@canadianferry.ca or 613-720-1777.
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ABOUT CFA
In 2019, ferries in Canada transported about 55 million passengers, 22 million vehicles and billions of dollars of goods in communities throughout the country, from urban centres to remote regions.
The Canadian Ferry Association represents the sector and its members include eight provincial governments, large urban municipalities, First nations and Crown corporations and private corporations (such as BC Ferries).
On June 1st, the Canadian Ferry Association has sent a letter to Ministers Morneau and Garneau requesting support for the ferry sector.
Read the letter here.
Today, the Canadian Ferry Association’s CEO, Serge Buy, testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance to discuss the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ferry service has been impacted in a number of ways due to COVID-19, and operators taking steps to ensure that passengers and crews are safe. This includes additional measures to promote physical distancing (including running at half-capacity), wearing masks where needed, and more.
These measures are taking an economic toll on ferry operators across the country, which could negatively impact the communities they serve.
During the presentation, CFA raised three main recommendations:
CFA’s presentation to the committee can be found here.