Every year, the commercial marine industry in Canada is responsible for:

• $10 billion in economic activity
• 100,000 jobs
• $117 billion in international trade
• 456 million tonnes of cargo
• 97% of all non-U.S. international trade
• saving thousands of heavy trucks from congesting our roads and highways
• reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions: greenhouse gas emissions from ships are one-tenth of those generated by trucks and one-half of those produced by trains (g/ton-kilometer)

But to continue to provide these economic and social benefits, governments must:

• promote and invest in a seamless, barrier-free Canada-U.S. border for greater trade and prosperity
• stop New York State's unilateral, unharmonized ballast water regulations which could prevent both interprovincial and international ship transit through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway
• remove punitive, competition-killing barriers to trade, like
  • Coast Guard marine service fees, and
  • the 25% federal duty on imported new, used and repaired vessels. (See Issue Update, October 1, 2010.)
  • modernize marine pilotage to make it more financially sustainable

Chamber of Marine Commerce regulatory submissions:

• Submission to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Proposed 2013 Vessel General Permit
  February 21, 2012
• Proposed amendments to Transportation Safety Board Regulations, Chamber of Marine Commerce submission
  November 10, 2011
• Canada-U.S. Border and Trade Issues, Brief submitted to the Regulatory Cooperation Council
  May 24, 2011
• United States Coast Guard proposed rulemaking “Standards for Living Organisms in Ships’ Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters”
  December 4, 2009
• Canada's proposed remission of customs duties on imported vessels
  November 16, 2009
• United States Environmental Protection Agency's proposed rulemaking on emissions control area
  November 20, 2009