The Board of the Canadian Ferry Association meets in Ottawa February 4-6, 2019.
Key on the Board's agenda is to finalize a strategic plan, meet with key federal stakeholders and plan activities for the following year.
The Canadian Ferry Association defined its priorities for 2019 to 2021. Priorities are:
CFA recognizes that its priorities and that of its members are intrinsically linked to the priorities of Canadians.
The National Trade Corridors Fund will begin a call for proposals on January 15, 2019.
The federal government intends to focus on projects that will improve the transportation system as it relates to exports capacity. The intend is to support Canada's objective to increase significantly its overseas exports (50% by 2025).
Projects will need to demonstrate how they can add to the capacity or reduce bottlenecks near ports, airports, road or rail corridors.
More information will be available on January 15, 2019. In the meantime, the government's press release can be found here.
The Canadian Ferry Association concluded its second innovation mission in Europe.
The successful visit included, amongst other things, discussions on alternative fuels, automation, big data and regulatory issues.
CFA wishes to thank the organizations and companies that took time to meet its CEO while on this whirlwind European tour:
The Canadian Ferry Association signed a Conservation Agreement with Transport Canada regarding the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SKRW), a species that is on the brink of extinction. Ferry operators have taken concrete steps to support conservation initiatives for the whales. For more information on the recent federal government announcement, see this website.
Serge Buy, CEO of the Canadian Ferry Association made a presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans to introduce the efforts made by ferry operators to protect whales. The transcript of the meeting will soon be made available.
The Canadian Ferry Association held its annual conference in Whistler. With a record number of attendees and exhibitors, the Conference was a clear success. It focused on ferry services in remote regions of our country and ferries serving indigenous communities. Presentations are available for attendees and CFA members.
The Canadian Ferry Association’s CEO, Serge Buy, made a presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. CFA introduced the crucial role played by ferries in the transportation of goods in various communities.
The transcript of the meeting can be found here.
CFA’s CEO visited ferry operations in Northerm Canada. Ferries are essential links for Northern communities. In the Yukon the George Black ferry links Dawson City and the rest of the territory to Alaska. In the Northwest Territories, the ferries that are an integral part of the Dempster Highway enable Inuvik and surrounding communities to continue to receive goods without paying exorbitant prices due to air transportation.
For ten days, the Chair of the Canadian Ferry Association, Captain Jamie Marshall, visited a number of ferry operators and suppliers to the ferry sector in Europe to better understand upcoming trends in the sector. From “silent” propellers to hydrogen-cells fuelled ferries, innovation in the sector is changing how ferries are seen. This mission with led Captain Marshall through six European countries (Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands) will be followed by another one later this Fall.