Pause Reciprocal Arrangements
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to pause expansion of Reciprocal Arrangements under Canada Shipping Act and review existing agreements to create a transparent governance framework supporting Canadian marine workforce development, training, safety and sovereignty.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would halt further reliance on foreign mariners, protecting Canadian seafaring jobs and creating space to rebuild domestic training and career pathways.
- A transparent governance framework and review would increase public and parliamentary oversight, helping align arrangements with safety standards and cabotage protections.
- Strengthening training capacity and workforce planning supports long-term marine sovereignty and readiness across merchant marine, pilotage and defence needs.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Pausing expansion could create immediate crew shortages for operators dependent on international mariners, risking service disruptions.
- A comprehensive review and new rules may impose costs and administrative delays on industry, reducing operational flexibility.
- Existing reciprocal arrangements may address urgent operational and safety needs; restricting them could disrupt supply chains and readiness.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled Transport Canada administers Reciprocal Arrangements (RAs) under the Canada Shipping Act without a clear, transparent, or accountable governance framework; The current government approach allows large marine corporations to become dependent on ongoing access to foreign labour in a manner similar to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, without sufficient safeguards to protect Canadian wage standards, career advancement pathways, or sustained investment in domestic marine training; Maritime unions have raised concerns that this approach weakens Canada’s limited marine training institutions and erodes the long-term availability of a trained Canadian marine workforce; Continued reliance on international mariners through these arrangements negatively impacts Canada’s ability to be self reliant in advancing seafaring skills for both a domestic merchant marine supply chain, Pacific Pilotage Authority, and the Department of National Defence from coast to coast; and These arrangements are expanded without regular public reporting or parliamentary oversight, raising concerns about their alignment with Canada’s long-term marine workforce capacity, safety objectives, and the practical integrity of cabotage protections. We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to pause further expansion of Reciprocal Arrangements and undertake a review of existing agreements, with the objective of establishing a coherent, transparent framework that supports Canadian workforce development, training capacity, safety, and marine sovereignty.
Government response
No government response is available yet.