The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has released its revised D-95-03 Asian Gypsy Moth – Plant Protection Policy for Marine Vessels.  The 10^th revision adds all ports in northern China (Shanghai and north), the Republic of Korea and Japan to the list of ports considered high risk for Asian Gypsy Moth (AGM) and is effective immediately.

Other key changes in this revision are the reporting requirements to CFIA.  Although required only for vessels arriving from regulated (high risk) areas, members are encouraged to provide the following information for all vessels to CFIA by email at: harbour@inspection.gc.ca:

• 96-hours advance notice of vessel arrival;

• List of the the vessels ports of call for the past 2 years; and if available

• A copy of a Phytosanitary Certificate or other approved certificates issued by Russia, Japan, China or Korea.

CFIA will review the information received in advance and continue to randomly select vessels for inspection.  Vessels arriving from ports added in this 10^th revision will be allowed to enter Canadian waters, but may be subject to inspection at anchor or alongside.  However, because these are now regulated, vessels will be subject to a fee (approx $500) for any inspections carried out by CFIA. 

In China, the China Certification & Inspection (Group) Co., Ltd (CCIC) was recently designated to implement the Asian Gypsy Moth inspection program on behalf of AQSIQ and CCIC will begin to train its branch offices throughout China.  In the Republic of Korea, the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) is issuing some form of inspection certificate that is being accepted by CFIA in the absence of a full AGM inspection program.

CFIA has confirmed that they will not be issuing penalties to vessels arriving without Phytosanitary Certificates from the new regulated areas before 2012. 

CFIA Harbour Operations will be sending out further information and both Ray Knight and Anna Birmingham will be in attendance at our next Ship & Port Operations Committee scheduled for Thursday, September 16^th at noon.  If you are not a member of the Committee, but wish to attend in person or via conference call, please advise Rose Bray at rose@cosbc.ca.

Download:

  Asian Gypsy Moth Policy D-95-03 (10th Revision) (112.8 kB)

Port Metro Vancouver undertook a comprehensive consultation process with industry stakeholders to develop an effective, efficient and fair mechanism to recover the cost of the Gateway Improvement Program (GIP) projects through a Gateway Infrastructure Fee (GIF). Industry stakeholder input was carefully considered as part of the consultation process and has been incorporated, where possible.

The GIF Backgrounder provides an overview of the GIF including: Fee Structure, Collection Mechanism, Term and Annual Evaluation. 

The GIF Consultation Summary Report was prepared by Kirk & Co Consulting Ltd., an independent company that was retained by Port Metro Vancouver to design and lead the GIF consultation program. 

The Consideration Memo summarizes how key themes from stakeholder input have been considered in refining the structure and implementation of the Gateway Infrastructure Fee.

Port Metro Vancouver will be having further discussions with industry stakeholders from August to mid-October to discuss the details of collection to ensure that the implementation of GIF is efficient.

Port Metro Vancouver will contribute ten per cent towards the overall industry component of the GIP projects and will recover the remaining 90 per cent from industry stakeholders through the GIF.

The Labour Minister expressed her concern that the talks over the weekend between CN and the TCRC had not produced an agreement that would have brought a quick end to the strike.

The strike began early Saturday and has prompted concern about economic disruption across the country. Federal mediators have been working with the employer and union for many months and spent the weekend in last-ditch efforts to find a formula that would allow for the resumption of full rail service, but to no avail.

“This is more than a private dispute between CN Rail and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference. It has serious repercussions for the national economy at a time when Canada’s recovery from the global recession is still fragile,” concluded Minister Ambrose.

The Minister calls on all parties in Parliament to support quick passage of this legislation.

Company urges Teamsters to work toward settlement to avoid strike threatened for Saturday, Nov. 28

MONTREAL, Nov. 25, 2009 — CN (TSX: CNR)(NYSE: CNI) today received a 72-hour strike notice from the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) of its plan to strike the company at 0001 hours Nov. 28, 2009.

CN said the TCRC’s decision is unfortunate because a strike is in no one’s interest – not the locomotive engineers, CN’s other employees, its customers or the Canadian economy.

CN is urging the TCRC to resume negotiations immediately to reach a settlement. If that is not possible, CN believes the union should agree to submit issues in dispute to binding arbitration before the Nov. 28 strike deadline.

Such an approach is fully consistent with the TCRC’s agreement to binding arbitration to end its strike at VIA Rail Canada Inc. in July 2009. In that dispute, the TCRC asked for two per cent wage increases – the same as CN’s last offer to the union.

If the TCRC strikes CN, the company is committed to provide the best possible service to its customers in the circumstances.

On Nov. 23, 2009, CN notified the TCRC of its intention to implement only one work rule change to the collective agreements and increase wages by 1.5 per cent effective Nov. 28, 2009.  CN decided to invoke these contractual changes to move the company forward after 14 months of bargaining with no resolution in sight. The TCRC’s last contract with CN expired on Dec. 31, 2008.

The Chamber of Shipping and Burrard Clean Operations (Western Canada Marine Response Corporation) are hosting a one-day workshop on oil spill response on Thursday, September 10, 2009.  The morning session of the workshop will provide an overview of the existing spill response regime in British Columbia and the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved.  The afternoon session will be designed to remind ship owners and agents of the procedures and the decisions that are required during a spill incident and the implications under the Canada Shipping Act and the new environmental enforcement measures.

An agenda and registration form will be available later this week.  For more information contact the Chamber of Shipping at tel: 604-681-2351.

The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade, Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Regional Minister for British Columbia, announced today the Government of Canada’s support for an industry‑driven skills development organization and its first two projects. The Government established the Asia Pacific Gateway Skills Table in the fall of 2008 with an investment of $1.5 million. The organization is tasked to develop projects to address the recruitment, retention and skills development needs of the industries associated with the Gateway.

As part of this Initiative, Minister Day, announced support of $147,047 for the Chamber of Shipping of BC “Business of Shipping” pilot project.

“Government understands that being competitive means ensuring that Canadians have the workplace skills needed to adapt to a changing global market,” said Ms. Oksana Exell, Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Gateway Skills Table. “We have partnered with a wide variety of Asia‑Pacific Gateway stakeholders to develop these meaningful, needed projects that will assist in building our reputation as a leading, international trade corridor.”

For the full announcement view the News Release. 

Port Metro Vancouver has assessed the operational and community impact of the suspension of CN rail services to container terminals Centerm, Fraser Surrey Docks and Vanterm since July 13. The Port has determined that container dwell time appears to be within acceptable operating parameters at this time. CN and the terminals have utilized speed gates and extended gates to mitigate road traffic impacts.

Port Metro Vancouver has initiated action to clarify the rail volume thresholds required for CN to resume rail service to the three affected container terminals.

Port Metro Vancouver will vigorously pursue all available options to ensure port competitiveness, service consistency, reliability and choice for Port customers, while minimizing impacts on host communities. 

Port Metro Vancouver invites commentary from commercial users expressing concerns or detailing specific impacts to operational performance since CN’s suspension of service to selected container terminals.