Advocacy — Government Relations: Port Security

Canada is among the leading nations with respect to its response to maritime security.

On July 1, 2004 ALL marine facilities in Canada fully complied with the International Maritime Organizations (IMO) strict marine security code called the International Ship and Port-facility Security (ISPS) code.

Throughout the period leading up to the July 1, 2004 deadline the Association worked closely with governmental agencies and all stakeholders to develop new regulations under Canada's revised Marine Transportation Security Act (MTSA). This involved extensive stakeholder consultations and the creation of effective working groups to interface with federal officials responsible for regulatory change. During that time the Association worked with other stakeholders to impress upon the federal government that port security was an important national initiative to protect all Canadians and as such the burden of costs should be shared.

In May of 2004 the federal government announced a cost-shared contribution program of $115 million that would be available to all marine facilities that had submitted a marine-facility security plan under the requirements of the MTSA and the ISPS Code. Since that time many marine facilities and all Canada Port Authorities have received funding under that program in the first round.

A second round of funding has been announced with applications sent out to all marine facilities in Canada that have Transport Canada-approved security plan. The deadline for submission of applications has been set for June 15, 2005.

» Recent Information on the Proposed Marine Transportation Security Clearance Program - Posted June 30, 2005

» Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: Report to Leaders June 2005 [PDF] and Annex to the Report [PDF] - Posted June 29, 2005

Recent Developments

» Planned CBSA Radiation Detection Process [PDF] - Posted May 23, 2005 » Français

ISPS Marine-Facility Training Video

This 20-minute training DVD provides realistic cases including actors in the roles of the PFSO, SSO, gate checkers and other relevant security concerns. The material is presented in German with good English subtitles.

The Managing Director agreed to provide copies to Canadian ports on request. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please contact: Capt. Henning Scharringhausen, Managing Director, FTZ Port & Logistic Training Centre Hamburg at his email address: h.scharringhausen@fzh.de

Additional Documents

» Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America

» Securing an Open Society: One Year Later, a progress report released by the Deputy Prime Minister [PDF]
» News release containing additional details about the report

» ACPA Submission to Transport Canada On Proposed Marine Transportation Security Regulations [PDF]

» New Marine Security Initiatives Announced by the Government of Canada (April 26, 2005)

» Second round of marine-facility security Funding Announced ...

» Marine Security Contribution Program

» Application Guidelines for Contribution Program

» International Ship and Port-facility Security (ISPS) Code

Port Security Related Websites

Canada

» Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

» Fighting Terrorism - Canada Site

» Canada Border Services Agency

U.S.

» Embassy of the United States of America, Ottawa - Border Issues

» America Responds To Terrorism - Whitehouse.gov

» Office of the United States Trade Representative

» U.S. Customs Service

» Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)