2009 November About one hundred people attended the SODES luncheon conference on November 19, 2009 in Montreal.
We had the honour of welcoming guest speaker Michel Pouliot, a pillar of marine pilotage worldwide. The subject of his conference was Marine transportation on the St. Lawrence River : yesterday, today and tomorrow. 
Michel Pouliot
October
The 9th edition of Québec Marine Day, held on October 27 in Québec City, was a rousing success.
The event, whose theme was The St. Lawrence River: Corridor to the Future, provided an opportunity for many of our members to meet with parliamentarians, including 4 ministers, to make them aware of priority marine transportation issues. Québec Marine Day has been officially recognized by the Québec government since 2002.
The closing reception in the Québec National Assembly’s Le Parlementaire restaurant attracted more than 150 industry representatives and parliamentarians. 
Pierre Préfontaine, SODES Chairman of the Board; Sylvie Vachon, President-CEO, Montréal Port Authority; Julie Boulet, Minister of Transport; Norman MacMillan, Minister for Transport; Madeleine Paquin, President-CEO, Logistec; Robert Masson, SODES President
To consult Québec Marine Day press release (french only), click here. OR To consult the special section run by Groupe Gesca in their main daily newspapers to highlight Québec Marine Day (french only), click here.
October On October 27, the St. Lawrence Economic Development Council (SODES) presented the 2009 St. Lawrence Award to Groupe Desgagnés Inc. For the first time, the award ceremony was held during the closing cocktail of the 9th Québec Marine Day in the presence of numerous parliamentarians and marine industry representatives.
In 2008-2009, Groupe Desgagnés Inc. stood out for its acquisition of six ships, at a cost of $165 million, in the context of its fleet renewal plan. Among the additions to its fleet were three new, state-of-the art ships. (Press release) (French only) 
Pierre Préfontaine, SODES Chairman of the Board; Julie Boulet, Minister of Transport; Louis-Marie Beaulieu, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Groupe Desgagnés; Robert Masson, SODES President; Norman MacMillan, Minister for Transport
The St. Lawrence Award is presented each year to an organization, company or individual whose outstanding performance or exceptional projects contributed to the St. Lawrence’s economic development or growth in the past year. In 2009, a sustainable development component was added to the selection criteria to increasingly reflect the industry’s new realities.
September - The St. Lawrence Economic Development Council (SODES) organized a luncheon conference on September 24 in the City of Saguenay. This event was held in the context of the marine transport promotional campaign’s regional tours. 
We had the honour of welcoming guest speaker Jean Tremblay, Mayor of Saguenay, who discussed marine transport’s importance for the region’s economic development. We also heard SODES President Robert Masson speak on the key role marine transport plays in Quebeckers’ daily lives. SODES also presented Saguenay Port Authority with their official Green Marine certificate for 2008. 
June 17 - SODES' annual meeting was held last week in Montréal and was preceded by a board meeting. As is customary, the Chairman of the Board took this opportunity to present the 2008-2009 activity report (French version only), which outlines the main files SODES worked on during the year. SODES’ luncheon conference took place after the AGM and featured two guest speakers. Emmanuel Guy, incumbent of the Research Chair in Maritime Transportation, presented the Chair’s work, notably its most recent study on perception of maritime transport in the print media. Then, François Grenon, public relations consultant and strategist with SIVIS Conseil, gave a conference entitled The marine industry’s image: communicating effectively. SODES also presented certain Green Marine participants who were unable to attend the certification ceremony in Toronto last May with their official Green Marine certificate for 2008.  
Picture 1: François Grenon, SIVIS Conseil Picture 2: David Bolduc (Green Marine), Michel Gadoua (Port de Valleyfield), Jocelyn Fortier (STQ), Michel Parent (Océanex), Robert Masson (SODES)
June 2 - Green Tech for Shipping - SODES is pleased to announce that Green Tech for Shipping, held in Toronto last May 20-21, was a success. This second edition of the conference enabled the approximately 120 participants to attend more than thirty simultaneous conferences for ports, terminals and ship operators and offered an opportunity to take part in a technology forum for the discussion of new technologies. A survey conducted at the end of the event to determine participants' satisfaction showed the St.Lawrence Great Lakes maritime community's great interest in this type of event. Moreover, it confirmed the relevance of the material presented, the simultaneous sessions and the technology forum. No reference to Green Tech would be completed without mention of the ceremony certifying the first group of Green Marine environmental program participants, wich attracted more than 150 people the evening of May 20. Participants received a certificate and promotional items to mark their official certification. The environmental program's initial results were also released publicly on our website. The next Green Marine environmental conference is scheduled to be held May 19-20, 2010 in Montreal.
February 2009 - About one hundred people attended the SODES luncheon conference on February 19, 2009 in Québec City, when SODES received Québec's new Minister for Transport, Norman MacMillan. The event provided an opportunity for the marine industry to welcome Mr. MacMillan and reiterate the public and private sectors' willingness to work together to develop the St. Lawrence in keeping with sustainable development principles. (Mr. Pierre Préfontaine, President of the Board of SODES, Mr. Norman MacMillan, Minister for Transports of Québec, and Mr. Robert Masson, President of SODES)
 GREEN TECH 2009 - The second edition of Green Tech, an environmental workshop on green technologies, will be held in Toronto on May 20-21, 2009. This workshop targets companies in the marine industry wishing to improve their environmental performance and will be accompanied by a trade fair. The event will also serve as the occasion for holding the first certification ceremony for Green Marine participant companies. For more information, visit the Green Marine website (http://www.allianceverte.org/) regularly.
January 2009 - St. Lawrence and Great Lakes Trade Corridor Study - The St. Lawrence and Great Lakes Trade Corridor Study is now offically public. Click here to consult it. |
