OTTAWA: A merchant marine helmsman who regularly plies Atlantic Canadian waters is voicing fears that Ottawa’s free trade deal with Europe may put Canadian sailors out of business. Marc de Villers says European ships now can carry cargo freely between Halifax and his hometown of Montreal under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, but if the Senate approves Bill C-30, the consequences for Canada’s merchant marine may be disastrous.
“Application of CETA’s Maritime Provisions in their present form will permit European-registry ships to load and discharge international cargo between Canadian ports, a trade which, until now, was reserved for Canada’s Merchant Marine, consisting of Canadian-registered vessels operated by Canadian crews,” said de Villers in his written Senate submission, which was sent to the Chronicle Herald. But he added that the provision currently restricting free transport for European Union vessels between Halifax and Montreal only, entitled Reservation II-C-14, can easily be revoked without further debate or parliamentary approval. He further accused Liberal MPs of not stating clearly during a House of Commons debate whether or not CETA would destroy thousands of Canadian seafaring jobs. “I’m quite concerned,” de Villers told the Chronicle Herald. He said that European cargo vessels typically operate under flags of convenience, which allows European shipping companies to shoulder crew costs at only 30 per cent of those borne by Canadian operators.
Additionally, some crew members on European vessels make as little as $2 per hour, a point previously queried by non-affiliated Sen. Andre Pratte during an April 13 hearing. Given further expressed hope that sailors on European ships operating in Canadian waters would be paid the prevailing wage, but this outcome was not guaranteed. “On those routes where European registry ships would be permitted to operate, Canadian ship operators would be put to a huge disadvantage to their European counterparts. They would cause Canadian ships immediate difficulty in competing with the overwhelming economic advantages conferred to European vessels by their use of low-wage, flag-of-convenience labour,” said de Villers in his submission. A number of senators voiced concern over maritime cabotage rights during ongoing hearings this month.
Independent Sen. Sarabjit Marwah noted during an April 13 hearing that representatives of the Canadian Labour Congress, Unifor and the Seafarers’ Union had “expressed a fair degree of concern with CETA and the lack of consultation.” “I’m surprised Canada made such a fuss of protecting cabotage for our own domestic airlines that they’ve kind of thrown you away to the wolves,” said Conservative Sen. Nicole Eaton during an April 6 hearing. Provisional implementation of CETA is expected to begin on July 1 after the senate votes on it. The Chronicle Herald tried contacting hearing chairman Sen. Raynell Andreychuk’s office for more information, but did not receive a reply prior to deadline.
