Record of Discussion
April 2009 NHAAC Meeting

Meeting of April 15-17, 2009
Pelee Days Inn, Leamington, Ontario
Theme – Creating the Future Together

Table of Contents

1. Opening Remarks
2. Welcoming Remarks
3. Session with Cal Hegge, Chief Financial Officer & A/Assistant Deputy Minister
4. HA Maintenance Manual
5. Review of Agenda and Summary of Discussion of NHAAC November 2008
6. Pre-NHAAC Meeting Debrief
7. SCH National and Regional Updates
8. Assessment of SCH Consultative Mechanisms
9. Petroleum Storage Tanks
10. HA Viability
11. Dock Monitoring and Fish Validation Program
12. Presentation of SCH Vision
13. Presentation on the Central and Arctic Region
14. Next Meeting
15. Possible Agenda items
16. Closing Comments and Adjournment
17. Participants
18. Summary of the Viability Discussion
    • Harbour Authority Presentation
    • Fee Collection Presentation
    • Update on Abandoned and Derelict Vessels
    • General comments/concerns resulting from this discussion
    • Summary

Opening Remarks

Micheline started the meeting by acknowledging the presence of the mayors, Mr. John Adams, Mayor of Leamington and Mr. Nelson Santos, Mayor and Warden of Kingsville county. Both mayors took a moment to welcome everyone to Leamington and wished the group a successful and productive meeting. Micheline introduced Cal Hegge and David Burden and thanked them for their attendance at the meeting. She also welcomed new NHAAC members – Richard Nickerson, Maritimes and Gulf and Terry Bennett, Central and Arctic and welcomed back Bernard Beaudoin, Regional Director, Quebec Region. 

Micheline provided a few opening remarks which focused mostly on the new funding that was announced in Budget 2009 for infrastructure for the Government's Economic Action Plan (EAP). She acknowledged that NHAAC has played a key role in highlighting the needs of the SCH Program, most importantly by their presence as witnesses at the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (SCOFO). 

Osborne went through the meeting protocol and an introductory round table was conducted.

Welcoming Remarks

David Burden welcomed participants to Central and Arctic (C&A) Region. He explained his role as Associate Regional Director General (ARDG) in C&A Region and made a presentation of the region, focusing on facts, challenges and issues. In particular, he spoke about the Northern Agenda. 

Session with Cal Hegge, Chief Financial Officer & A/Assistant Deputy Minister 

Cal Hegge thanked everyone for the opportunity, once again, to attend a NHAAC meeting. He expressed his appreciation to C&A Region and to the ARDG, Dave Burden, for hosting this meeting.

He passed along greetings from the new Deputy Minister (DM), Claire Dansereau who, unfortunately, could not be available. Cal indicated that Mme Dansereau had been the Associate DM of DFO and was quite knowledgeable of the SCH Program and its needs. Cal indicated that she was looking forward to being present at the next NHAAC meeting and the Prix d'Excellence Ceremony in Ottawa in November 2009.

Some discussions ensued on the EAP Infrastructure Program, Pangnirtung harbour and DFO Organizational structural changes.

HA Maintenance Manual

Pieter Leenhouts, Engineer, SCH, joined the meeting to make a presentation on the HA Maintenance Manual. There are 5 phases to this project - Manual Design (99% complete), Manual and Module Development (83% complete), Manual Management System Design Phase (April to Sept. 2009), Manual Roll out to Regions and Harbours (Sept. 2009 to April 2010) and Project close-out (May 2010). He went through each phase in brief detail and then presented Module 1 - Inspection Guideline and Module 2 - Example Harbour Inspection. The presentation of the modules gave the group a sense of what the modules look like and how they are to be applied at the harbours.

This manual has been endorsed by many HAs during six trial exercises at their harbours, and is seen as a useful tool that will assist them in tracking and recognizing maintenance requirements at their harbours.

Review of Agenda and Summary of Discussion of NHAAC November 2008

Approval of the Summary of Discussion from the November 2008 meeting. Moved by Ben Mabberley and seconded by Bob Baziuk.

Pre-NHAAC Meeting Debrief

Osborne debriefed on the Pre-NHAAC meeting that was held the previous morning.

SCH National and Regional Updates

Micheline presented the national update and each Regional Director provided an update on their region. Micheline focused her update on the EAP Infrastructure program and Functional Review. The Regional Directors spoke about staffing, regional project planning and regional initiatives.

Assessment of SCH Consultative Mechanisms

The purpose of this discussion was to share the outcomes of the recent consultations with the RHAACs on the Assessment of SCH Consultative Mechanisms. In general, there was overall satisfaction with the final draft, most of the comments received were editorial in nature and therefore no changes were made to the "spirit" or the intent of the Terms of Reference (TOR) and Code of Conduct.

There was consensus to accept and implement the new TOR at the next NHAAC meeting in Ottawa in November 2009.

ACTION REQUIRED:

• Define "Lobbying" in Code of Conduct – November 2009
• Develop NHAAC and RHAAC Orientation Guide – November 2009

Petroleum Storage Tanks

Lisa McClemens from Environment Canada joined the meeting to give a presentation on the new and current regulation for Storage Tank Systems for petroleum and allied petroleum products. These regulations are applicable to federal land only. She indicated that any provincial jurisdictions regarding storage tanks do not apply to federal land (i.e. land owned by the federal government). The purpose of the new regulations is to minimize leaks into the environment and thus the impact of spill events. Lisa provided the group with information on roles and responsibilities, application and overview of the regulations, definitions and information on new systems being installed. She also provided some information on leak detection, emergency plan and reporting requirements.

She noted that by June 12, 2010, all systems affected by these regulations must have been identified to Environment Canada and must display an ID number; emergency plans must be in place for all systems. Regulations will not allow product to be delivered to those tanks that are not tagged with an ID number.

HA Viability

A round table discussion took place on the issues faced by HAs regarding Enforcement, Fee Collection and Abandoned and Derelict Vessels.

See the Summary of the Viability Discussion for a detailed summary of this discussion.

ACTION REQUIRED:

• SCH to develop Terms of Reference (TOR) and a work plan to move forward with this initiative – to be reviewed with NHAAC at November 2009 meeting.

Dock Monitoring and Fish Validation Program

Ben Mabberley provided an update on the initiative he is undertaking with SCH Pacific and the Commercial Fishery Board. As he presented at the November 2008 NHAAC meeting, Ben and SCH Pacific Region are proposing to co-ordinate the support and training for HA members to become certified "dockside" validators. Currently the region has three service providers and it is very costly for HAs. Under the current system, travel and fuel costs as well as validation charges are very high. There is only a restricted number of viable validation points resulting in limited direct sale opportunities. The new initiative encourages access to local markets, economic viability and self reliance of HAs, reduced expenses, local skill and economic development and creativity in revenue generation. There is great support of this initiative within the Pacific Region by commercial fish harvesters, advisory boards, service providers, HA advisory boards and SCH.

Hedley Butler then provided an update of the Newfoundland & Labrador landing fee process whereby Harbour Authorities are paid by licensed buyers and these buyers agree to provide a certified statement of landings. This program that was introduced in the 1990s has been a well established revenue source for HAs in this region. These fees are a condition of their annual Harbour Authority user license. The buyers agree up front before any activity occurs and HAs are paid by licensed fish buyers. Harbour Authorities in Newfoundland and Labrador appear to be quite effective in collecting landing fees from the fishing industry; however, there may be some room for improvement. A rate increase would be required to substantially increase the total amount collected from this source.

Presentation of SCH Vision

Micheline presented the SCH Vision:

An essential, affordable, national network of safe and accessible harbours, in good working condition, that meets the principal and evolving needs of the commercial fishing industry, while supporting the broader interests of coastal communities and Canada's national interests.

These harbours will be fully operated, managed and maintained by viable, professional and self-sufficient Harbour Authorities representing the interests of users and communities.

A short discussion ensued and NHAAC members were satisfied, overall, with the SCH Vision.

Presentation on the Central and Arctic Region

A very informative presentation on the Central & Arctic Region, including a socio-economic and geographic overview, operational conditions, divestiture and recreational harbours.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will take place in Ottawa, Ontario on November 24th – 26th, 2009. The next meeting after that will take place in the Maritimes and Gulf Region in April 2010.

Possible Agenda Items

Possible topics for the next NHAAC meeting:

• HA Viability
• HA Manual

Closing Comments and Adjournment

Meeting comments were positive and special thanks were given to the C&A Region and SCH staff for hosting and organizing such a successful event.

Participants

Co-chairs

Micheline Leduc, Director General, Small Craft Harbours (SCH)
Osborne Burke, Chair, National Harbour Authority Advisory Committee (NHAAC)

NHAAC Representatives

Pacific
Ben Mabberley, Whaler Bay Harbour Authority (Vice-Chair)
Bob Baziuk, Steveston Harbour Authority (Secretary)
Liz McLeod, Comox Valley Harbour Authority

Central and Arctic
Gord Caudron, Harbour Authority of Joussard
David Tomasson, Hecla Village Harbour Authority
Al Matthews, Wheatley Harbour Authority
Terry Bennett, Matheson Island Harbour Authority

Quebec
Luc Legresley, Harbour Authority of Newport
Marvin Buckle, Harbour Authority of Old Fort Bay
Laurent Normand, Mont-Louis Harbour Authority

Maritimes and Gulf
Bonnie Morse, Harbour Authority of Grand Manan Island
Osborne Burke, Harbour Authority of Ingonish (Chair)
Richard Nickerson, Harbour Authority of Port La Tour

Newfoundland and Labrador
Morris Fudge, Harbour Authority of Burin
Jim Larkin, Harbour Authority of Cook's Harbour
Hedley Butler, Harbour Authority of Bonavista

SCH Representatives

SCH Headquarters
Micheline Leduc, Director General (Co-Chair)
Kaye Love, Director, Harbour Policy and Program Planning
Donna Jean Kilpatrick, Director, Harbours Operations and Engineering
Claudette Raymond, Senior Policy and Program Advisor
Jennifer Baldwin, Senior Policy and Program Analyst
Brigitte Bastien, A/Policy and Program Analyst

SCH Regions
Pacific: Ken Smith, Regional Director
Central and Arctic: Alan Kathan, Regional Director, and Mark Sandeman, Program Officer
Quebec: Bernard Beaudoin, Regional Director
Maritimes and Gulf: Jacqueline Richard, Regional Director
Newfoundland and Labrador: Bill Goulding, Regional Director (absent)

Guest presenters

Cal Hegge, Chief Financial Officer and A/Assistant Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Information Management
David Burden, Associate Regional Director General, Central and Arctic Region
Pieter Leenhouts, Engineer, Harbour Operations and Engineering, SCH
Lisa McClemens, Environmental Officer, Environment Canada

Summary of the Viability Discussion

The objective of this session was to discuss the issues around viability involving fee collection, enforcement and abandoned vessels. SCH will then compile what they have heard and develop a framework that could be used to aid HAs with these issues.

Michael Bartlett, a lawyer in DFO, joined the group for this discussion. He was attending the meeting as an observer and not to provide legal advice. He will be working closely with SCH on the viability file and it was felt that he needed to hear these discussions to be able to have a better appreciation of the many issues facing Harbour Authorities in terms of viability.

Harbour Authority Presentation

Bob Baziuk made a presentation to the group on Harbour Policies. As the Harbour Manager for Steveston and as a Director of the Harbour Authority Association of British Columbia (HAABC) he has developed policies and tools to help Harbour Authorities manage their harbour more effectively. He noted that regardless of the size of a harbour, there are true benefits from the introduction of harbour policies to provide safety, service and security for all harbour users and staff. He provided the group with some policy examples and ways in which to craft policies. He shared a version of a berthage agreement that is currently being used in Pacific Region. This agreement was prepared in consultation with the HAABC and a marine expert lawyer and has helped solve some of the fee collection problems regional harbours were facing. Bob offered to share any of the policies that are being drafted with the other regions. He did acknowledge that they may not always be applicable to some of the smaller harbours but could be used in some aspect or could be customized to meet their needs.

Fee Collection Presentation

Osborne and Bonnie presented the issues that are currently being felt by Maritimes and Gulf Region – namely, Fee Collection, Harbour Rules of Operation and Derelict and Abandoned Vessels. They noted that the Small Claims Court procedure is untimely, costly and not user-friendly and that this option is not currently working for them. In the province of New Brunswick you cannot garnish wages therefore if they are successful at Small Claims Court there is no means to collect the money. They currently have no authorities to collect the fees and berthage agreements are very difficult to get signed and enforced. In many cases the offenders are members of the Board of Directors or friends and family. They are very interested in the department looking at the option of licence non-renewal if fees are not paid however, it was noted that holding fishing licences for fees not paid to an HA would be a punishment for an action not related to fishing. The Fishing and Recreational Harbours Act and Regulations need to be reviewed to reflect the existence and needs of HAs.

Update on Abandoned and Derelict Vessels

The survey of the harbours in the Pacific region is complete – results are 38 abandoned vessels, 19 derelict vessels, 18 fishing vessels of concern and 37 recreational vessels of concern. They have developed a strong working group to deal with this issues comprising of representatives from Cost Guard, Receiver of Wreck, SCH, lawyers, province and HAs.

SCH will confirm the results of the survey to get a dollar figure for dealing with the problem. This group has drafted a checklist of do’s and don’ts and Liz will provide it to SCH for translation and further distribution. Liz noted this is a growing issue in BC and that she was happy to share everything they have. The cost to remove a vessel is somewhere between $6K and $80K (depending on the size).

General comments/concerns resulting from this discussion

Policy Presentation:

• How can we expect volunteers to draft and enforce these agreements?
• If they cannot afford to enforce the policies, they could end up being detrimental.
• Have to keep it simple and do what you can afford.
• These policies could help; we need something to back us up when trying to deal with issues.
• It was noted around the table that almost everyone uses some type of berthage agreement.

Fee Collection, Enforcement, Abandoned Vessels:

• Professional non-payers – HAs need to work together to avoid these vessels landing at their dock.
• Collect a list of non-payers (alerts) and share amongst HAs.
• Not a huge problem in C&A region because they generally know most of their clients. They use signs to display fees – fees are collected via an honour system and this seems to work well.
• Need to put notices in prominent places on the vessel – an order for removal can be obtained if notices have been posted – a letter of eviction.
• Harbours in Newfoundland region were having problems with collecting fees – they hired a lawyer who wrote letters – problem was solved.
• Some HAs believe that it is a waste of time and effort to collect fees.
• Collection Agencies are very expensive (they charge approximately 40% of the debt and they normally are not interested in small debts.
• Berthage agreements should include a clause that states that the parties have read/signed the clause related to fees.
• Some harbours have done everything and NOTHING works.
• Why do they keep looking to the government – HAs need to establish rules and regulations, these are their “businesses”.
• Rules and regulations are not the problem – the problem is enforcing them.
• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) – apparently offers a fee collection services –SCH will look into this service.
• Embarrassment factor – post eviction notice on boat, boat jail, letter of eviction (each province have different procedures for this).
• Need to get a sense of the magnitude of the problem.
• Could use financial statements to provide us with information.
• Legal review should be done by department “conditions of license”.
• Work could be done by organizations such as the HAC and HAABC – could hire marine lawyers.
• Need to find a solution that does not cost money – we need the power to get rid of delinquent clients.
• Need to hire more women – they seem to be more effective at collecting fees.
• This is a stress that a volunteer does not deserve.

Questions for Legal:

1. How do you get rid of a person who is docked at the harbour and not paying fees?
2. How do you prevent them from coming in?
3. Could a debt to a HA be considered a debt to her majesty? (Act)
4. If you refuse them and then they leave and something happens, who is responsible?
5. Can an HA have some type of binding legal documents that could be used (strong legal presence)?

Comments from Legal:

If they have a signed berthage agreement they have the legal right to evict them. Quebec has a different civil code – will need to be looked at in some detail.

Summary

This session was extremely helpful and the next step is for SCH to digest and categorize this information. SCH will begin their data compilation but based on this discussion it is quite obvious that we need solutions. Once the information has been categorized, there was strong support around the formation of a working group which would engage industry.

Please contact SCH Headquarters for additional information, or for a copy of any of these documents.