What is Advocacy? A look at one of CIFFA’s founding pillars

(Shared from The Forwarder Magazine, Fall 2024. View digital version.)

CIFFA was founded in 1948 in Montreal by a small group of freight forwarders who saw a need to create an industry association to meet the professional demands of its members.

Their original goals were simple:

• To support and protect the industry and its workers with uniform trade practices and regulations
• To establish rules for proper arbitration between members and others
• To deal with all questions affecting the interests of foreign freight forwarders at large
• To represent the industry in Parliament

CIFFA has grown and evolved, but those founding principles still remain today.

There are three pillars to CIFFA:

Membership

We create membership value and engagement through communication channels, as well as network and social interactions

Education

We train individuals and develop course material to educate those wishing to expand their knowledge within global supply chain.

Advocacy

We engage with government and industry stakeholders to ensure that the needs of the supply chain are being met.

So what does advocacy look like?

CIFFA represents member firms with various government and regulatory bodies, both informing members and educating regulators, or rather, bringing regulators up to speed on the questions and operational challenges members face, and how these might be resolved. CIFFA seeks input and strives to enhance trade capabilities, assisting members in the delivery of competitive solutions.

This list provides an overview and summary of CIFFA’s advocacy efforts from 2022 to present, some of which we expand on in other sections of this publication.

Over the past several years, there has been a tremendous need to increase our efforts on the advocacy agenda. CIFFA took the lead on stakeholder collaboration and engagement during the COVID-congestion crisis. CIFFA pushed to have freight forwarders recognized as ESSENTIAL workers when they did not, for example, appear on lists of businesses that were allowed to remain open for business during lockdowns.

Over the course of 2022, CIFFA presented input to the National Supply Chain Summit and Task Force. This Task Force was created to resolve many of the huge challenges to supply chain that the Covid pandemic area evidenced. Stakeholder input, including that of CIFFA’s, with reports from its members, was included in the Final Report of The National Supply Chain Task Force in 2022.

From March 2023-July 2023 CIFFA continued mounting pressure on the federal government during the West Coast ILWU-BCMEA labour negotiations/strike vote.

In October 2023, CIFFA then made a submission to the Labour Program under section 106 of the Canada Labour Code to provide a review of the recent longshoring dispute at the West Coast ports and other recent disputes at Canadian ports.

CIFFA also participated in the inaugural National Supply Chain Forum, hosted by the Supply Chain Office in  December 2023.

CIFFA has successfully lobbied the CBSA to extend its no-AMPS penalties period for eManifest program.

CIFFA presents on regular basis to the federal Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, as well as pushing government for oversight on competition issues from detention and demurrage charges.

Under Executive Director Bruce Rodgers, CIFFA invited stakeholders to share experiences on a Supply Chain Operations call on a monthly basis.

On the airfreight side, CIFFA regularly participates in the Transport Canada Advisory Group on Aviation Security which covers, among other topics, aerodrome, passenger and cargo security in Canada.

CIFFA has been pushing for harmonization between CBSA and Transport Canada on the Pre-load Air Cargo Targeting (PACT) pilot, to avoid any duplication of reporting requirements which would amount to more red tape.

In 2023 and 2024, CIFFA’s Executive Director, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs and Director of Business Development presented at various centres across Canada in a town hall format.

The town halls provided an opportunity for existing CIFFA members to network, meet CIFFA staff, and ask questions. They were also an opportunity for new prospects to hear about the advantages of being a CIFFA member.

Several town halls were held in partnership with the airports in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, for example, with additional tours and activities planned for the day.

Here is the list of town halls presented by CIFFA:

• Toronto, Freight Brokerage Town Hall: May 29, 2023
• Edmonton: June 21, 2023
• Calgary: June 22, 2023
• Toronto: July 19, 2023
• Vancouver: July 25, 2023
• Montreal: March 21, 2024
• Toronto, Drayage Town Hall: July 16, 2024

Advocacy Efforts to date in 2024:

In January, CIFFA sent a submission to the Treasury Board Supply Chain Regulatory Review on: Duplication of Reporting Requirements (i.e. PACT/Transport Canada/CBSA), and the Weakness of Canadian Competition legislation. This submission in full is outlined further in this publication.

Also in January, CIFFA held a Marine Carrier / Freight Forwarder Meeting on eHBL Submission.

This discussion offered participants the opportunity to share input regarding inconsistent provision by marine carriers of the consolidated indictor for in-transit cargo to the origin rail carrier, and to bring forward suggestions for resolution of issues.

In February 2024, CIFFA held an update call with Transport Canada on its Pre-Load Air Cargo Targeting program (PACT) team on processes to date, discussion of forwarder concerns regarding the process.

Also in February, CIFFA prepared its pre-budget submission to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office regarding labour relations at the Port of Montreal and concerns about labour actions because of unresolved contracts.

In March, CIFFA wrote to the Minister of Transport emphasizing the need for adequate funding for the new Supply Chain Office. In April, the Minister of Transport heard from CIFFA again in a letter supporting CN Rail on the Logistics Hub in Milton

April was a busy month for correspondence. At the provincial level, CIFFA wrote to the Minister of Colleges and Universities, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, and the federal Minister of Transport, re. recognition of the Logistics Industry and “in demand” in Ontario’s Education Priorities. This was following an announcement that the federal government would curtail numbers of international students admitted to the country, and subsequently affecting various programs in place at the colleges and universities.

On the Customs side of things, CIFFA, in partnership with the Surety Industry Association, sent a letter to the Chair, Standing Committee on International Trade, re. the implementation of CARM, questioning the CBSA timeline to adequately implement the program. (The result of this pressure was a 5-month deferral of the program.)

In May, CIFFA was invited as a witness to present before the Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT) on Canadian Businesses in Supply Chains and Global Markets. This submission is outlined further in the publication.

Internationally, CIFFA continues to be very involved with FIATA in representing our membership internationally, where we participate on various committees and provide valuable input from a Canadian perspective on initiatives that impact the logistics community across the globe.