We know that our operator and supplier members may be facing challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CFA is acting as a resource centre on all COVID-19 issues, and is circulating information to all ferry operators, regardless of their membership in our association. CFA is acting as a conduit of information from the sector to the federal government.
Questions? Please contact CFA’s CEO Serge Buy (sbuy@canadianferry.ca).
For the latest update on COVID-19, please see the following links:
Over the last few weeks, the federal government has begun to release its COVID-19 Economic Response Plan that provides support to businesses and Canadians.
Information about these measures are below.
Support for Businesses:
A new Business Credit Availability Program will allow the BDC and EDC to provide $10 billion of additional support targeting small businesses. This support will allow private sector lenders to coordinate on credit solutions for individual businesses. This program has been expanded to mid-sized companies with larger financing needs. Support for mid-market businesses will include loans of up to $60 million per company, and guarantees of up to $80 million.
This program includes the Canada Emergency Business Account which will provide interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and non-profits. To qualify, these organizations will need to demonstrate they paid between $20,000 to $1.5 million in total payroll in 2019.
Click here for more information.
This will provide bridge-financing to Canada’s largest employers, whose needs are not being met through conventional financing in order to keep their operations going. This support will not be used to resolve insolvencies or restructure firms, nor will it provide financing to companies that otherwise have the capacity to manage through the crisis. Strict parameters have been put in place for businesses who wish to access this program. More details are available here.
This 3-month subsidy is equal to 10% of remuneration paid during that period – to a maximum of $1,375 per employee.
Click here for more information.
In order to help Canadian businesses, the federal government has announced its plans to offer a 75% wage subsidy for qualifying businesses. This applies to businesses of all sizes and across all sectors.
In order to qualify, a business must be able to prove a loss of at least 15% of revenue in March 2020 and 30% for the following months. This measure will be backdated to March 15, as way to incentivize employers to re-hire employees that may have been laid off.
It would apply to 75% of the first $58,700 normally earned by employees – representing a benefit of up to $847 per employee. This program would be in place for a 12-week period from March 15 to June 6.
The Government of Canada has announced that the CEWS will be extended by 12 additional weeks to August 29, 2020.
Eligibility criteria:
The Application portal can be found here.
Organizations that do not qualify for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy can qualify for the previously announced wage subsidy for 10%, up to a maximum of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer. Click here for more information.
This program will provide loans (including forgivable loans) to commercial property owners who in turn lower or forgo the rent of small businesses for the months of April (retroactive), May and June. Further details about this program will follow shortly.
A new Regional Relief and Recovery Fund earmarks nearly $962 million to help businesses and organizations in sectors such as manufacturing, technology, tourism and more. This fund will be administered through the regional development agencies across the country.
To find your regional development agency, and apply, click here.
For tourism operators and small businesses, flexible arrangements may be made with regional development agency (RDA) in your region – support may be available and is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Click here to find the RDA in your region.
CRA will:
Changes will be made to support exporters deemed to be in the national interest – allowing the government to provide additional support to the companies through loans, guarantee or insurance policies.
Support for Canadians
To support Canadian workers and parents, the government will:
Mask Guidelines from Transport Canada
On April 17, the Canadian government introduced measures for non-medical masks or face coverings in the Canadian transportation system.
It will mean that all air passengers will be required to wear non-medical masks or face-coverings to cover their mouth and nose during travel.
For ferries, operators will continue to have the choice:
Operators are encouraged to provide public messaging to travellers about the need to have non-medical masks or face coverings before and during their journey – if they can’t maintain physical distancing. Our Association will put some social media messaging on this that can be used by operators.
To be clear: this measure does not include employees. Operators are free to decide, on their own, if staff can or need to wear non-medical masks or face coverings.
Additionally, please find below various links from Transport Canada on the new guidelines related to non-medical masks and face coverings for passengers on ferries.
Please note that we will be tweeting, in both official languages, various social media messages related to this and other announcements as they are released. You can find us on Twitter @canadianferry
1. News Release (multimodal)
2. Backgrounder (multimodal)
4. Poster – “Travel by Ferry or Water Taxi”
5. Poster – “Face Coverings on Passenger Vessel and Ferries”
If you have any questions regarding the new regulations, please contact CFA CEO Serge Buy at sbuy@canadianferry.ca
Interim Order No 3: Respecting Passenger Vessel Restrictions Due to COVID-19
Transport Canada has issued a new Interim Order, Interim Order No.3 Respecting Passenger Vessel Restrictions Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which replaces the Interim Order No. 2 that was released on April 20th.
Interim Order No.3 puts in place measures announced by Minister Garneau on May 29th, prohibiting passenger vessels that are certified to carry more than 100 persons (including passengers and crew) AND are equipped with overnight capacity for passengers (bunks, cabins, etc.) from operating in Canadian waters until October 31, 2020.
Vessels certified to carry more than 12 passengers will be prohibited from entering Canadian Arctic waters (waters north of the 60th parallel, including the territorial sea in the vicinity of Nunatsiavut, Nunavik and the Labrador coast), also until October 31, 2020.
Essential passenger vessels and ferry vessels will continue to operate with mitigation measures in place to reduce to the spread of COVID-19. All other vessels will be permitted to operate, subject to restrictions from their provincial, territorial, or local health authority.
Ship Safety Bulletin: Mobility of Asymptomatic Workers in the Marine Sector During COVID-19 - SSB No.: 18/2020
This bulletin outlines measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on board essential passenger vessels and ferries. These practices must be implemented by essential passenger vessels and ferries that continue to operate, under restrictions, during the pandemic.
This bulletin replaces Ship Safety Bulletin No. 09/2020
Due to the ongoing situation with COVID19, Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security (TCMSS) will grant a general extension for the validity of certain marine personnel certificates. Due to the imposed community based mitigation methods, including the closure of schools and focus on social distancing, TCMSS has decided that due to the difficulty this will cause seafarers in completing their courses that the best course of action is to grant this temporary extension.
Please see the information provided by TCMSS for further details on this temporary measure.
The Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) announces that it will act as a resource centre on all COVID-19 issues. CFA will circulate information all operators regardless of whether they are members of the association.
“It is essential for information to flow through to all ferry operators as quickly as it becomes available,” said CFA CEO Serge Buy.
CFA is also the source of information and questions from the sector to the federal government. Departments such as Transport Canada, Finance Canada and the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the COVID-19 response are CFA’s main interlocutors.
Already, CFA has circulated questions from its operators and is liaising with Transport Canada to find responses.
Should operators or interested parties have questions, they should contact CFA’s CEO. Serge Buy is reachable by email at sbuy@canadianferry.ca
In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian health authorities have urged Canadians to engage in social-distancing in public areas to prevent further transmission of the virus across communities.
In response, the federal government has announced that Minister Garneau has approved a temporary measure that will enable ferry passengers to stay inside their vehicle, onboard the car decks, provided the operator can demonstrate that various safety measures have been put in place.
The decision to utilize this protocol ultimately rests with the Master of the Ferry.
Operators who chose to implement this protocol will have to confirm, in writing, to the Regional Director of Marine Safety and Security what measures are being taken to handle the additional pressure for emergency evacuation in case of an incident. They may advise and comment on the information you provide.
Acceptable measures could include (but not be limited to):
If you have any questions, please contact CFA CEO Serge Buy at sbuy@canadianferry.ca
The Canadian Ferry Association will be distributing important information on COVID-19 related issues to our members.
We will be continuing to act as the sector’s link to Transport Canada in order to facilitate a strong and consistent flow of information between the two parties as the situation develops. We will work as the single point of contact with Transport Canada in order to help limit workload and ease the strain on their resources.
Regardless of whether you are a member, if you operate a ferry and you need some information, we’ll provide it to you. If you have questions, we will ensure you get a response.
Thank you for your cooperation.
November 7 – Ottawa
A lack of qualified seafarers is an issue that touches all corners of the marine sector – including passenger vessels across the country.
Without qualified personnel, ferry vessels that are a vital part of the daily commute of many Canadians and provide connections to remote parts of the country, would not able to operate.
The ferry industry is working closely with the federal government to find ways to attract more Canadians – including women and Indigenous people – to the marine sector. Our sector is also looking for ways to provide support for our current marine workforce to obtain additional certifications and support their progression. This includes considering modifications to the EI rules to accommodate training for current employees.
In addition, we look forward to working with Transport Canada on amending the minimum safe manning requirements and the marine personnel regulations, both of which are crucial to the ferry industry’s ability to staff the current fleet of vessels, as well as recruit and retain future workers.
This lack of qualified personnel is a significant challenge, and the Canadian Ferry Association is focused on solutions. We believe that by industry stakeholders and government working together, we can develop and implement measures that will improve the marine sector as a whole.
We look forward to welcoming the workforce of tomorrow.
About CFA
The Canadian Ferry Association is the national voice of ferries in Canada. Our members operate with the highest professional and operational standards and promote the safe operation of ferry services in Canada. With over 53 million passengers, 21 million vehicles and billions of dollars of goods transported annually, the ferry sector is a crucial part of Canada’s infrastructure.
Visit www.canadianferry.ca for more information. Follow us on Twitter @cdnferry.
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For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Serge Buy, CEO
(613) 686-3838
SAINT JOHN, Wed. Sep. 18, 2019: Members of the Canadian Ferry Association (CFA), including ferry owners, operators and suppliers, met in Saint John over the last few days to talk best practices with a focus on Innovation in Customer Experience.
Two days of presentations, panels and technical sessions wrapped up Tuesday night with a Gala Dinner in Uptown Saint John.
Along with the economic impact of bringing its conference to the Port City, the Canadian Ferry Association made a lasting impression by donating more than $30,000 to the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation.
Half of that was raised through a live auction, with good-natured and competitive bidding from CFA members from right across Canada. Then, the Association itself matched the bids to bring the generous gift to $30,270.
“Our members are in the business of making connections,” says CFA CEO Serge Buy. “They live, work and contribute to the communities we visit, and to provide a boost to a good cause is in our nature. We are thrilled to assist the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation with its efforts to expand and renovate Clinic 1 in its GIVE Campaign.”
“Our region is sewn together with threads of river and ocean ferry crossings,” says Saint John Regional Hospital President and CEO Jeff McAloon. ”They are a part of our everyday lives and are integral to our business, social and tourism development. To have this support from an industry that is so vital to New Brunswick shows how invested its members are in their communities.”
The donation will be an important piece of The GIVE: Clinic 1 expansion and renovation. Construction is expected to begin before the end of this year. The Foundation is in an ambitious, four-year, 12 million-dollar plan to double the square footage of the clinic, which has not seen substantive improvement in almost 40 years.
About the Canadian Ferry Association
The Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) is the national voice of the ferry industry in Canada. Our members adhere to the highest professional and operational standards and promote the safe delivery of ferry services across Canada. CFA is a member-based organization representing Canadian ferry owners, operators and industry stakeholders across the country. CFA has more than 90 members, with our owner/operator members accounting for nearly all of the major ferry routes in Canada.
About the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation
The Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation raises money for medical projects, spaces and tools not covered by traditional government funding. It also supports mental wellness, research, education and patient comfort. Many of the projects supported by the Foundation’s fundraising are suggested by health care professionals who see a patient need not being met. Learn more at thegive.ca .
See the official announcement here.
The Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) held its annual conference in Saint John, New Brunswick from September 15 to 17. The Saint John Conference broke new records: attendance, exhibitors and funds raised for a charitable cause.
"This is undoubtedly the best CFA conference to date," said CFA Chair, Captain Jamie Marshall.
Presentations made at the conference will be available to members and attendees in the near future.
For further information on the Conference or to reserve a spot for the next conference, contact Christine Helm (chelm@canadianferry.ca).
The Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) recently participated in international meetings and discussions of relevance to the ferry sector.
At first, CFA attended (April 27-May 5) a meeting of the Human Training Element and Watchkeeping Subcommittee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Canadian government included the Canadian Ferry Association's CEO as an observer with the Canadian delegation. In this case, there were discussions on issues related to women in the marine sector, training and certification of crews.
CFA also had meetings with other organizations such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (of which Canada is a member) and the International Labour Organization. In these meetings, CFA discussed issues such as:
Our association's CEO also attended (June 5-14) a meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO as part of the Canadian delegation first then as part of Interferry's delegation. Our CEO spoke on behalf of Interferry, and the Canadian ferry sector, to support China's proposal to have IMO look at domestic ferry safety. We also voiced our concern on other measures related to life jackets. Finally we also attended and participated in the development of voluntary IMO guidance on marine autonomous surface ships trials.
Canada functions in an increasingly interconnected world. Developments thousands of kilometres away may have a real impact on operations in Canada. CFA is taking measures to monitor regulatory changes and developments happening in other countries and international organizations.
The establishment of the $695,000, five-year industrial research chair in the School of Maritime Studies was announced by Serge Buy, chief executive officer, Canadian Ferry Association, and Glenn Blackwood, vice-president, Memorial University (Marine Institute).
“Members across the country have helped the association fund this effort in order to enhance knowledge on key issues related to the ferry sector,” said Mr. Buy.
“This announcement is the culmination of efforts that started in 2017 by the association. The impact will be felt throughout the country, including in remote and Indigenous communities where ferries play an important role.”
“I thank the Canadian Ferry Association for its confidence in the Marine Institute with this investment in our research, education and mainly, our people,” said Mr. Blackwood.
“Industrial research chairs reinforce our strong partnerships with the oceans industries we serve. It ensures that the research that follows is responsive to current and future needs, accessible, and beneficial to our stakeholders, in this case, those who operate and use our national ferry transportation system.”
The funding of the industrial research chair will make it possible for the institute to expand its research capabilities into technologies used on marine passenger vessels, recruit elite researchers, and develop new academic programming in this field.
“The impact will be felt throughout the country, including in remote and Indigenous communities where ferries play an important role.”
The chair, along with post-doctoral fellows and graduate students, will conduct research related to new marine technologies and how they will benefit the marine passenger transportation industry.
The research will focus on emerging technologies in the areas of efficient propulsion systems, robotics and autonomous systems, analysis of data collected onboard vessels, and underwater radiated noises.
The research will take a multi-year approach in collaboration with stakeholders in the marine industry and faculty from the Marine Institute.
The selection process to fill the CFA Industrial Research Chair will begin immediately with a researcher to be announced by fall 2019.
The industrial research chair will have access to research and testing facilities at the Marine Institute, including its Holyrood Marine Base and suite of maritime simulators, and will be provided support by Canadian Ferry Association members.
The chair is expected to foster collaboration in related transportation sectors across the country and internationally and develop new graduate programming at the Marine Institute in the marine passenger transportation field.
A nine-member steering committee will provide advice and recommendations on the progress of the chair’s research.
The CFA chair is the third research chair established at the Marine Institute since 2017. It joins the Ocean Choice International Chair in Fish Stock Assessment and Sustainable Harvest Advice for Northwest Atlantic Fisheries and the Canada Research Chair in Ocean Mapping.
Since 1987 CFA has represented the interests of the ferry sector in Canada. It encourages high standards for safe, reliable, cost effective and environmentally responsible passenger vessel management. CFA has approximately 100 members, with its owner/operator members accounting for nearly all of the major ferry routes in Canada. Collectively, CFA’s members carry more than 55 million passengers and 22 million vehicles annually.