June 18, 2021
The Honourable Omar Alghabra
Minister of Transport
Ottawa, Ontario
RE: Interim Order Suspending Cruise Ships
Dear Minister Alghabra:
Canada is approaching a significant threshold in its fight against COVID-19 as increasing numbers of Canadians receive their vaccinations. Your government has procured a sizeable supply of vaccines and established financial supports and successful sanitary measures and to sustain and protect Canadians respectively. This extends to the establishment and extension of the Interim Order Suspending Cruise Vessels to Canada.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our first principle, like yours, has been that safety is paramount. As such, we have supported the Canadian government in the actions it has taken to protect Canadians. For our part, our member ports have implemented stringent safety protocols, partnered with all levels of government on these protocols, and continued to move goods through our domestic and global supply chains. We have also developed over many months and presented to Transport Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada staff, extensive and detailed protocols for resumption of cruise visits to Canadian ports. Now, as we see vaccination rates increase and cases decrease, we are looking at actively preparing for safe resumption of cruise visits to Canada.
To that point, given our clearly demonstrated and extensive experience with safe operations, increasing vaccination rates and the long lead time needed to prepare for resumption we are requesting that your government now send a clear signal to the cruise industry that it wants cruise in Canada. Specifically, we are requesting that the existing no-sail order be fully rescinded by December 31st, 2021, to allow for vessel fit-up and staff training and preparation in advance of the start of the cruise season. We are also requesting that Transport Canada modify the current order to allow for the exploration of a limited number of small-vessel (maximum 500 passengers plus crew) trial runs as of October 31st, 2021, in specific regions. Lastly, we recommend that these measures be communicated quickly and clearly to the cruise sector. With the immediate communication of these changes to the Interim Order, your government will be providing a framework for a safe, scalable and predictable phased-in approach to resumption, while also clearly signalling that Canada is planning for safe recovery and open to safe cruise tourism.
The urgency for our request is driven by the steps the United States has taken to bypass the Canadian market. This is especially important with the recent introduction of US legislation to permanently waive the requirements for cruise ships emanating from the US to visit a foreign port, thereby bypassing Canadian ports. This legislation, combined with the COVID impacts on the industry, is putting the Canadian cruise industry in a position it will take years to recover from.
The cruise and tourism sector have been devastated by the COVID pandemic. This sector has grown tremendously and been a critical source of economic development, especially for smaller communities and less urban regions. There is a lot at stake if the Canadian government doesn’t take immediate steps to show that cruise will happen in Canada in 2022. The numbers are significant — cruise ports across Canada welcomed approximately 1,400 cruise calls and 3 million cruise passengers during the 2019 cruise season. This activity generated nearly $4.3 billion in total output, over 30,250 jobs paying a total of $1.4 billion in wages, and $467 million in business and income taxes in Canada.
As a consequence of this situation, we need to send clear signals to the cruise industry that Canada is a desirable and supportive destination for cruise. On a very practical and operational level, the industry needs months in advance to build infrastructure and protocols, fit-up vessels, source supplies, find and train staff, to name just a few aspects of the complex blueprint for resumption. This need is particularly acute given post-COVID operational demands. We want to prepare for the safe start of the season in April 2022, ensuring that all of the proper safety protocols are in place.
Thank you for considering this request. We remain available to answer any questions you may have.
Yours sincerely,
Wendy Zatylny
President, Association of Canadian Port Authorities
Andrew Dixon
Chair, ACPA Cruise Committee
Saint John Port Authority
Cc/ Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages
Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health
Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs
Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs
