A bill proposed by Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski aimed at allowing cruise ships bound for the state to bypass Canadian ports would have a “devastating” effect on British Columbia, Greater Victoria Harbour (pictured) Authority Chief Executive Officer Ian Robertson said. Under the proposed legislation, large foreign cruise ships carrying more...
A bill proposed by Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski aimed at allowing cruise ships bound for the state to bypass Canadian ports would have a “devastating” effect on British Columbia, Greater Victoria Harbour (pictured) Authority Chief Executive Officer Ian Robertson said.
Under the proposed legislation, large foreign cruise ships carrying more than 1,000 passengers would be able to bypass Canadian ports indefinitely, having been temporarily granted the privilege during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“[The Passenger Vessel Services Act] had the unintended consequence of putting Alaskan businesses at the mercy of the Canadian government,” Murkowski said during an address to Alaska’s Southeast Conference Annual Meeting.
“It nearly wiped out southeast Alaskan economies as we saw business after business ready to welcome visitors, but unable to because Canadians would not respond to our requests to allow foreign stops at their ports to meet the requirement of PVSA…we cannot let that happen again.”
Robertson said cruises bring in roughly CAD$143 million a year to the city of Victoria’s economy, and create hundreds of jobs, meaning the newly elected Government of Canada needed to take the issue seriously.
“I’m both surprised and disappointed…it would be devastating,” Robertson told The Canadian Press.
“It’s a file that requires all hands on deck…there needs to be advocacy at the highest level.”
Cruise ships were banned from Canada during the early stages of the pandemic over concerns about spreading coronavirus, but the ban is set to be lifted by Nov.
Minister of Transportation of British Columbia Rob Fleming said in a statement he is working with industry leaders and his federal counterparts to raise awareness of the issue.
He said Premier of British Columbia John Horgan had raised the issue with recently returned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman.
“The cruise ship industry is vital to BC tourism, and to thousands of people whose livelihoods rely on the regular arrival of ships,” he said.
