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More than 35 different Canadian authorities
require more than 50 different applications and permits from cruise operators
before they are allowed to visit Arctic Canada. This keeps cruise operators,
visitors and economic activities away from Canada.
Cumbersome, expensive and problematic
This week AECO (the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators) sent an
open letter to Canadian stakeholders that are involved with permitting
requirements for expedition cruise operators or involved with the political
framework behind such requirements. The intention of the letter was to express a
concern with the unfortunate fact that the Canadian Arctic is considered one of
the most cumbersome, expensive and problematic regions in the world in which
expedition cruise operators conduct tourism activities. Canada, as a
destination, has a great deal to offer tourists from all over the world and the
expedition cruise operators would like to continue to bring guests and economic
activity to Canada. But improved cooperation of the Canadian authorities is
needed to make this possible.
More than 50 different permits
The list of permitting requirements for cruise operators in Arctic Canada seems
to be ever-increasing. The illustrative list below includes 52 different
permitting, licensing, clearance, inspection, review, certification, impact,
registration and reporting requirements, which Arctic cruise operators might
have to adhere to when operating in the Canadian Arctic. Canadian researcher
Ph.D. Jackie Dawson, Canada Research Chair in Environment, Society and Policy
and Assistant Professor at University of Ottawa is working on article with the
premise, “This situation limits economic development and local entrepreneurship
opportunities and essentially yet unintentionally undermines some of the work
that is being conducted by the same institutions that are implementing the
permits.”
Lack of clarity put operators in risk of non-compliance
The current state of affairs and difficulties in obtaining information is a
serious concern to all operators. According to Hans Lagerweij, President and CEO
of Canadian-based Quark Expeditions,“No Canadian body has been able to provide a
complete list of requirements and/or a list of permitting authorities, so
operators could easily oversee one or more requirements, which could result in a
company unintentionally being non-compliant. This complete lack of clarity is a
serious concern for all operators.” According to Lagerweij, one solution could
be a central permitting body or office.
Streamlining urgently needed
Frigg Jørgensen, Executive Director of AECO, believes that if this situation is
not changed it will lead to a long-term loss of tourism and tourism related
business for Canada. “As an organization representing Arctic expedition cruise
operators, we strongly urge Canadian authorities to start a process in order to
streamline the complex, time consuming, expensive and unclear permitting
situation that is the reality in the Canadian Arctic today.” According to
Jørgensen, the expedition cruise operators will—if things are not
changed—continue to take their business elsewhere as they’ve done in the recent
years. She hopes that the Canadian authorities will consult the industry to
streamline and possibly even reduce the very high number of requirements and
learn from other similar regions such as Greenland and Svalbard.
Responsible, environmentally friendly and safe expedition cruise
operations
As an organization, AECO represents its members—approximately 40 international
companies that operate almost 30 vessels in Svalbard, Greenland, Canada and the
Russian Arctic. Besides a number of Canadian members, AECO has members who have
been engaged in expedition cruise tourism in Arctic Canada and other Arctic
regions since the 1980s. AECO is dedicated to ensure responsible,
environmentally friendly and safe expedition cruise tourism all over the Arctic.
The organization takes the complexities of polar ship operations very seriously
and AECO members work diligently to ensure the utmost consideration for local
cultures, flora, fauna and cultural artifacts. In order to accomplish this, AECO
has developed a number of guidelines that regulate the members’ operations and
visitor behavior. |
