Peter O'Neil
        Vancouver Sun

  Saturday, March 27, 2004
      
  OTTAWA -- In a move aimed at deflecting the electoral wrath of 

This article appeared this morning in the Vancouver Sun. I wasn't sure if it was carried across Canada, and the Sun has closed their site to registered users only, so I couldn't just post a link. I decided I'd post the content of the article here, even though it is a bit lengthy. I know many of our friends south of the border are interested in this story as well. Rob Grant 41' Canoe Cove, "RaeLeah" Delta, BC Wrathful boaters make waves in Ottawa Peter O'Neil Vancouver Sun Saturday, March 27, 2004 OTTAWA -- In a move aimed at deflecting the electoral wrath of boaters, the federal government is considering cancelling a contract with a company that has an exclusive deal to produce charts for electronic navigation devices, The Vancouver Sun has learned. The issue hit Parliament for the first time Friday after weeks of behind-the-scenes lobbying and pressure tactics that have included e-mails to the Liberal government from boaters and boating associations warning that their safety is jeopardized because they can no longer obtain updated charts. "This is a critical safety issue," said B.C. Conservative MP Ted White. At the heart of the issue is a federal contract that makes Nautical Data International Inc. (NDI) of St. John's, Nfld., the "sole licensee to reproduce and distribute chart information in the form of digital navigation products." NDI is demanding a huge royalty fee from two Italian firms, C-Map and Navionics Inc., that are the top suppliers of navigational software for thousands of Canadian boaters. They develop their material using data supplied by Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS,) which violates the copyright and has resulted in the government threatening civil, even criminal action. Those firms, which sell the cartridges containing the charts for about $200, say the royalties would double the price. As a result they taken the high-risk move of cutting off sales to Canadian mariners, who have no alternative source of digital maps unless they buy expensive new hardware. Navionics, which has hired an Ottawa lobbyist with close Liberal connections, has received word that the government isn't prepared to wait until the contract with NDI expires in 2008. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has acknowledged that the contract is "flawed and DFO are looking to amend or cancel the CHS/NDI contract," according to Navionics spokesman Bruce Angus. DFO spokesman Steve Outhouse was asked Friday if officials in his department have consulted the department of justice about the legal implications and potential cost of cancelling the contract. "I cannot confirm or deny the statement about whether or not we consulted with DOJ about how to potentially remove ourselves from that contract," Outhouse said. In the Commons Friday, White asked: "Why did the government grant a monopoly to NDI, and what is the minister going to do about it to get rid of this nasty sweetheart deal and make digital maps available to users of that equipment?" Liberal MP Shawn Murphy said the NDI agreement, first struck in the dying days of the Tory government in 1993 and given a 10-year renewal by the Liberals in 1998, worked well until recently. But he conceded that problems relating to NDI, which was bought by Mohammad Al-Zaibak of Toronto 18 months ago, are a concern. "Certain problems have developed," said Murphy, parliamentary secretary to Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan. "The minister and the department are aware of them and they are trying to resolve them as soon as possible." NDI has received grants from Industry Canada, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and from the TAGS program that allowed it to hire displaced commercial fishermen. In 1996, the firm received a $246,000 contract to develop the electronic nautical charts in an initiative touted as "an example of how this government is prioritizing its spending so that it can better serve Canadians by making efficient use of their tax dollars." NDI owner Al-Zaibak contributed a total of more than $1,400 in four separate contributions to the Liberals in 2001-2002. A call to his Toronto office wasn't returned. The dispute has triggered cynicism and anger among boaters who have written e-mails to the companies or to the government. "Certainly what is most discouraging is that data, in this case hydrographic information contained in nautical charts which is the property of the taxpayers of Canada, is being held from those very taxpayers by a corporate entity with a monopolistic contract," wrote Randy Whaley, chairman of the Ontario Recreational Boating Advisory Council. Other e-mails obtained Friday by The Vancouver Sun indicated the government is taking the matter seriously. One e-mail to Ruth Thorkelson, one of Prime Minister Paul Martin's most senior advisers, summarized the problem and then concluded: "We simply don't need a bunch of boaters pissed at us this spring and summer!!" "Yikes!" responded Thorkelson, Martin's deputy chief of staff, in March 16 correspondence. She said she would ask Martin's top official in Atlantic Canada to work with Regan's office on the issue. There are an estimated seven million recreational boaters in Canada. poneil@cns.canwest.com ) The Vancouver Sun 2004