Results of the MGAC Townhall Survey - Feb 2021
1.Were you able to attend the Town Hall?
25 people (41.4%) attended the town hall, of which 1 person (1.7%) could not stay for the vote. 34 people (58.6%) did not attend the town hall but did participate in the survey. This was out of the 58 people who answered this question.
2. Do you think there is a need for an association of Marine Guides in Canada?
Yes – 67.2% (39 people)
Maybe I need more info – 25.9% (15 people)
No – 6.9% (4 people)
3. If you attended do you have any feedback about the format or proceedings?
The majority of people wanted it to be closer to an hour in length and to have more time for questions and discussion. A total of 14 people had suggestions and feedback on the format and proceedings of the town hall.
4. Please indicate which of the following BEST describes you in your role within the Canadian Marine Guiding community?
The roles within the Canadian marine guiding community that best described the 58 individuals that responded were:
31% (18 people) guided full time and
31% (18 people) guided part time.
14% (8 people) were full time employees or owners of a marine guiding business.
5. Please indicate how much you work as a Marine Guide.
Of the 56 responses,
30.4% - 17 people individuals worked 12-25 weeks of the year as a guide.
25% (14 people) only worked 1-12 weeks of the year, and
23.2% (13 people) and worked 26-35 weeks of the year and
21.4% (12 people) 36-52 weeks of the year.
6. Main sub-industries people work in (59 responses)
Overnight Expeditions <100 passengers (41 people)
Whale watching day excursions (17 people)
Sea Kayaking (17 people)
Overnight expeditions >100 passengers (16 people)
7. Which social media platform do you follow?
90.6% Facebook
64.2% Instagram
8. Which region best describes where you live and guide?
Geographically the majority of the 57 guides who answered this question are working on the West coast of Canada (71.9% central or mid coast and 61% south coast) but overall guides were from ….
9. Occupations that SHOULD BE included in MGAC
Expedition trips overnight (96.4%)
Whale watching day trip naturalist and operator (91.1% and 89.3%)
Paddling (73.2%)
Sport fishing guides (62.5%)
White water rafting (42.9%)
Surfing (42.9%)
1 vote each for coastal and boat based bear viewing, photo tours, dive charters, power vessel operators, and SCUBA.
10. Feedback on what occupations SHOULD or SHOULD NOT be included in the association
Professions not to Include:
Fishing Guide
Kayaking
Non Powered Vessels
Surfing
Freshwater Tourism
Canoe
Rafting
Hunting
Professions to Include:
Any marine based guiding
Photography tours
SUPs
Rafts
Kayaks
Dive charters
Ocean only
Fishing guides
11. What should the main aim be for MGAC?
(categories added later)
Advocacy
Advocate for guides and industry
National representation of the profession
Liaison between governments and companies
Member Benefits
Provide a network for employment opportunities
Ensure health and employment benefits for all maritime employees
Affiliation with international organizations
Professional Development
Certifications
Support the development and education of guides
Set guiding standard for industry
Platform for sharing knowledge
A reference for the most recent and reliable information
Wildlife viewing ethics
Outreach
Priority to providing info and training to First Nations and Inuit
Inner-city youth support and outreach (Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Montreal, etc)
Building partnerships
Intangibles
Transparency
Community
12. How can MGAC help/support you?
(categories added later)
Professional Development/Advancement
Knowledge sharing / education
Symposiums
Best practices / guidance (glacier viewing, photographing wildlife)
A place to give back (mentor)
Work opportunities
Apply for grants to support businesses
Access to resources
Professional connections / development
Training opportunities
Member Benefits
Benefits
Networking
Liability insurance
Advocacy /Activism
Centralized location for ideas to give to guests on how they can give back after a trip
Unionization or Guild
Standardizing pay
Connections to research and community projects
Intangibles
Comradery
Professionalism
13. Statement of Purpose Aims
All aims were heavily supported. The one with the most amount of 1-2’s was ‘To help establish and maintain an agreed upon set of core competencies and qualifications for marine guiding skills in Canada’ but overall was supported.
14. Marine guiding association benefits
Most benefits were heavily supported. Two that were somewhat evenly distributed were ‘To act as a training provider’ and ‘professional accreditation (certification)’. These were not as heavily supported.
15. What time of the week should the association host the next general meeting?
Out of 49 responses 79.6% said a week day evening and 10.2% said just week day.
16. Amount willing to spend on membership
Based on 31 responses the average was between $55-125/year with an overall average of 80$/year.
17. Why do you feel there should, or should not be an association of Marine Guides in Canada?
Should
Safety/better work environments
Environmental Benefits
Communication
Knowledge Sharing/Education
Elevate the profession
Backing for Government Influence
Setting a National Standard
Learn Skills/training
Help promote professional interests within field
Benefits
Respectful wages
Representation
Mentoring
Workers rights
Networking
Cultural training
Insurance for guides
Should Not
No need for more certifications
Already enough organizations
More challenging for people to work in the industry
No need for another regulatory body
No need for it period
18. What further information are you hoping to receive in order to better answer the question above?
Summary of key points made at town hall
Membership fee estimates and what are the benefits
Organizational structure and financial model
External support/feedback (First Nations, Government, other industries)
Goals and mission statement
Employer requirement concerns (will employers require this?)
What would MGAC provide that other associations don’t already offer?
What is our definition of a marine guide?
Pros and Cons of being national vs regional
19. You forgot to ask about this! (Please provide any further information that you would like to share that has not been covered in this survey.)
Unknown: How do you weight responses? Make decisions? Democracy, board of directors, will there be a vote for the directors, how will you handle owner/operator presence/agendas in the association?
Redacted: I will add that some of us had a different career before guiding, and previous experience in what might seem a completely unrelated field, may in fact provide insight and advantage.
Redacted: I need more information if I’m going to volunteer. My biggest concerns are, one, how will you look at becoming an internationally recognized organization? Two, how inclusive will the organization be? Three, what is the primary focus of the organization? (are we a professional, benefit, certifying, or regulatory organization).
Unknown: The ambition is impressive, but I would be most receptive to select concrete initiatives.
Redacted: I would suggest having FN representation on the board, to ensure local (regions that are explored (Haida Gwaii, GBR etc.) topics are addressed and the group can also be informed of local less-pubic issues.
Redacted: I was involved with the startup of the BC Section of Interpretation Canada (ICBC) which in its heyday provided amazing training opportunities, conferences, workshops, and the like. There is also the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA). I am not sure how much activity they have going at the moment, but there may be opportunities for collaboration. I might be interested in being involved with some mentorship or training. I used to teach Heritage Interpretation and Environmental Stewardship (for tourism and adventure tourism) at three colleges, but think I would more likely consider involvement once things are formed rather than at startup. One thing I will say is don't get too focussed on certifications. I found myself in the situation where I had done a job for 25 years, and then certifications were introduced with no support to get those (I would have had to spend a lot of money). I had started the program on a ship and found myself not qualified to work on it, whereas someone who had taken courses at an adventure tourism school where I used to teach, got the job as she had all the certs, but no direct experience. Her teacher was one of my former students. Some positions will require some qualifications that are not needed by others. Experience should not be dismissed. It wasn't clear to me if I had space to say more on the fee section in that spot, but just to note that there are already fees that people may be paying, so important to keep it as low as possible
Redacted: I really don’t believe we need another guiding alliance
Redacted: I've been a guide for 8 years and each year struggle to make this career work for me long term. Any organization to help promote the longevity of marine guiding careers is one I would love to join/feel is necessary. Hope it continues on!
Unknown: I think an association focused on information sharing, best practices, improving work conditions, and mentoring would be amazing and well-received by many folks in the industry. I think it will be difficult to get buy-in to a certification program with such an incredibly diverse group of people with very different jobs who already belong to a bunch of other organizations.