On June 29, the Government of Quebec launched the province's
first maritime strategy. The strategy covers the 15-year period
from 2015 to 2030. The government is anticipating that, over that
period, public and private investments totalling $9 billion will
stimulate the creation of 30,000 direct jobs and significant growth
in imports and exports.
The strategy includes three five-year action plans. The first,
which covers the period from 2015 to 2020, was announced
concurrently with the strategy. It is accompanied by a $1.5 billion
financial framework and many of the measures it contains are
already set out in the Quebec Budget 2015-2016.
The strategy is underpinned by two core principles: (i) a planned,
integrated approach involving the various levels of government and
civil society, and (ii) a sustainable development perspective. To
define its priority initiatives, the government has adopted three
strategic directions: (i) sustainably develop the maritime economy;
(ii) protect the maritime territory and its ecosystems; and (iii)
enhance Quebecers' quality of life. In the action plan, these
directions are broken down into a series of strategic priorities,
which are, in turn, broken down into priority actions and
accompanied by a budget envelope.
The inevitable interrelationships between the economic,
environmental and social spheres mean that some of these strategic
priorities, summarized below according to strategic direction,
overlap.
Sustainably develop the economy
The government wants to invest in infrastructure. Actions will
include creating a new program, administered by the Ministry of
Transportation, to support port and intermodal infrastructure
projects in the freight transportation sector. Also, financial
support will be provided for the construction of access roadways to
port and intermodal sites. Infrastructure design will have to
incorporate measures to adapt to climate change. Consequently, the
government intends to review the areas of the St. Lawrence River
that are prone to flooding.
The government plans to promote the establishment of logistical
hubs, i.e. multimodal industrial parks that cluster together
business and distribution centres. Vaudreuil-Soulanges and
Contrecoeur are proposed as hub sites because they are well
positioned and complementary.
The development of industrial port zones, which should promote
better integration of manufacturing firms into global supply
chains, is also an integral part of the strategic priorities.
Planned actions include decontaminating land under the
government's responsibility in order to make it available for
investments in such zones.
The government also plans to support Quebec shipyards through
actions including the introduction of tax measures (additional
capital cost allowance of 50% for shipbuilding or renovation
carried out by Quebec shipyards, a tax-free reserve for Quebec
shipyards and maintaining the refundable tax credit for the
construction or refitting of ships) and cooperation with the
federal government in renewing the Canadian ship fleet.
The development of short sea shipping and the use of maritime
transport to ship alternative energy sources, including liquefied
natural gas, will also be encouraged.
In addition, the government plans to promote the development and
modernization of maritime tourism by, among other things, creating
a maritime tourism supply office (Bureau de l'offre touristique
maritime), funding reception facilities in Quebec City and Montreal
for international cruises and funding tourism projects on the
shores of the St. Lawrence River.
The strategy also includes plans to modernize and ensure the
long-term survival of the fishing and aquaculture industry by
focusing on three development areas: marine biotechnology,
aquaculture and sustainable fishing. The government plans to
support the efforts of fishing fleets seeking environmental
certification, extend and enhance the refundable tax credit for the
Gaspésie and certain maritime regions of Quebec and maintain
measures to encourage the next generation of workers, such as
capital gains exemptions and the program for young fishermen and
fisherwomen.
To meet workforce challenges, the government intends to set up an
issue table to better match employers' needs and available
training and support workforce skills development. New types of
training will be introduced in promising sectors (marine
biotechnology, logistics and applied research) and initial training
will be adapted to include new health, safety and environmental
protection requirements. Other planned actions include establishing
a vocational study program in seamanship and enhancing the tax
credit for an on-the-job training period. Lastly, an assessment
will be made of various measures designed to promote the maritime
trades.
To foster the development of knowledge in the maritime sector, the
government intends to create the Réseau Québec
Maritime (RQM), a network bringing together existing research and
development structures and expertise for the purpose of addressing
maritime issues. Moreover, international cooperation will be
promoted through, among other things, the establishment of a
France-Quebec institute on maritime matters.
Lastly, the government plans to promote Quebec's maritime
industries internationally through Export Québec's
Programme Exportation and by developing a strategy to attract
direct foreign investment to Quebec.
Protect the maritime territory and its ecosystems
To protect the biodiversity of freshwater and seawater
ecosystems, the government wants to create a representative network
of marine protected areas by increasing the protected marine area
from 1.3% today to 10% in 2020 in order to meet international
commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
This action is to be carried out in conjunction with the federal
government under the Canada-Quebec deliberations of the Bilateral
Group on Marine Protected Areas. Places where marine protected
areas could be created include the Îles-de-la-Madeleine and
the American Bank in the Gaspésie. Factors considered in
creating marine protected areas will include the habitats of plant
and animal species at risk such as the beluga. Actions to restore
and ensure the sustainability of fishing in Lac Saint-Pierre will
also be supported. Lastly, adequate response capabilities will have
to be structured to counter threats posed by invasive aquatic
species, which will require the cooperation of several
stakeholders, a knowledge acquisition effort and prevention, early
detection and eradication measures.
The second strategic priority is to improve the management of risks
associated with maritime shipping. The government intends to work
closely with the federal government to upgrade the prevention,
preparation and response program for maritime shipping in
Quebec's territory. Also, the government will provide financial
support for research and knowledge acquisition aimed at increasing
local, regional and provincial emergency response expertise in the
area of marine hydrocarbon spills. Municipalities will be provided
with support in upgrading their emergency plans and the Quebec
civil response system will be relied upon to implement an
integrated approach to managing the risks associated with potential
maritime incidents. Moreover, a centre of expertise specialized in
preventing, preparing for and providing an environmental-emergency
response to hazardous substance spills in the St. Lawrence River
will be set up in the Îes-de-la-Madeleine.
The government also intends to leverage its maritime strategy to
help fight climate change. Focus will be placed on two programs in
the 2013-2020 Action Plan on Climate Change: the Programme
visant la réduction ou l'évitement des
émissions de gaz à effet de serre par le
développement du transport intermodal (a program to
reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions through the development of
intermodal transportation) and the Programme d'aide
gouvernementale à l'amélioration de
l'efficacité du transport maritime, aérien et
ferroviaire (a government assistance program to improve
maritime, air and rail transport efficiency). The use of
alternative energy sources in maritime shipping, including
liquefied natural gas, the modernization of ships and handling
equipment, and projects involving the use of electric power
sources, such as the Montreal and Quebec City dockside connection
projects, will be promoted and encouraged.
Enhance Quebecers' quality of life
To reach this objective, the government wants to foster local
economic spinoffs by banking on SME and regional growth. The
measures announced include reducing the tax burden on SMEs,
financing SME investment projects and establishing a one-stop shop,
Entreprises Québec, to facilitate access to government
programs and services.
To enhance the ferry-service offering and open up the communities
involved, the government plans to support the Société
des traversiers du Québec (the government-run corporation
responsible for ferry service in Quebec) in improving its service
offering and increasing ridership. It also plans to work with the
federal government and the Nunavik and James Bay communities to
resolve issues related to northern marine infrastructure and to any
marine infrastructure rehabilitation work that may be needed.
Social acceptability and community involvement are key to the
success of the maritime strategy. The government therefore intends
to put in place means by which information may be shared, community
members consulted and cooperation fostered, such as regional issue
tables or the St. Lawrence Forum. The government also intends to
revitalize certain territories connected with marine facilities and
to promote maritime culture and heritage.
Another priority action consists in attracting young people to the
regions and providing them with incentive to stay. Young people
wishing to settle in the regions would be supported in doing so
through such things as job creation in the different sectors of the
maritime economy and tax credits.
Lastly, efforts are planned to combat coastal erosion and support
the many communities affected by this phenomenon. Those efforts
will focus on securing infrastructure and buildings and preventing
social and economic impacts. They will include setting up a coastal
erosion emergency fund and supporting the affected municipalities
in analyzing priority actions and implementing adaptation and
prevention measures against a backdrop of climate change. The
government will support research on coastal erosion and ensure that
the revision of the St. Lawrence water-level regulation plans
reflects Quebec's interests.
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