A new year is upon us and already St. Lawrence Economic Development Council (SODES) is safeguarding its members’ interests and promoting the development of economic activities on the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries. Recently, we invited you to renew your SODES membership for the coming year. As you know, SODES is a non-profit organization which, through the support of members like you, is able to move forward numerous files related to the economic development of the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes.
Over the past year, SODES showed its leadership in the St. Lawrence maritime community with its active involvement in a number of files, including:
- Creation of the Marine Information System (MIS), a joint project involving Innovation maritime and SODES in conjunction with the five Canadian port authorities located in Québec, the Canadian Coast Guard, Transport Canada, Transports Québec and the Secrétariat aux affaires maritimes (Maritime Affairs Secretariat). The main goal is to set up a system to collate, process and disseminate data that is useful for marine-sector stakeholders;
- Lobbying at the various levels of government to get commitments in the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker fleet renewal file to ensure the level of service needed;
- Coordination and implementation of the marine industry promotional campaign “Brought to you by ship – My river, my provider!”;
- In collaboration with Transports Québec, coordination of the work of the Marine Industry Forum, mandated to oversee implementation of the Québec Maritime Strategy;
- Coordination and Secretariat of the Marine Advisory Board – Québec region, follow-up and recommendations to the Canadian Coast Guard;
- Organization of events of importance to the St. Lawrence maritime community, such as luncheon conferences and Québec Marine Day, whose 16th edition was a rousing success;
- Participation on the Navigation Coordination Committee, mandated to harmonize navigating practices (commercial shipping and pleasure boating) with protection of St. Lawrence ecosystems.
As a SODES member, you help ensure that your organization continues to represent you vis-à-vis various government bodies at both the federal and provincial levels. To do so, SODES sits on and participates in some 30 committees and events linked to the marine industry with the unflagging goal of making your voice heard on key issues impacting the marine sector’s future. We thank you in advance for your support.
