Vancouver: The Port of Vancouver will today launch an effort to secure legislative changes that will better position it and other national ports to compete effectively with their U.S. counterparts, and to continue to serve vital national trade development interests.

Captain Gordon Houston, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) will outline the port's position at today's Provincial Congress on Transportation and Infrastructure in Vancouver. The position will in turn be formally put forward to the federal government over the course of its review of the Canada Marine Act (CMA), which begins next week.

"Were at a pivotal point in the health of Canada's ports and their abilities to serve as vital links in Canada's trading relationships," said Houston. "We have identified regulatory changes that will enable Vancouver to be the port of choice on the west coast of North America. Without them, we foresee more erosion in our competitive position and that has implications for a wide range of Canadian industries and all individual Canadians."

The central challenge, Houston said, is insufficient access to capital for infrastructure investments required to maintain competitiveness and capture business growth opportunities. The VPA wants to see an enhanced ability to reinvest in its own infrastructure development, less fettered access to private sector capital, and the opportunity to benefit from public investment in appropriate circumstances.

With sufficient capital investment, Houston said the VPA has the opportunity to dramatically increase its already significant economic contributions. The potential exists to increase port-generated employment from 62,000 total jobs in 2001 to 115,000 total jobs in 2020, with the ports total GDP contribution increasing from $3.4 to $6.4 billion. Houston added, however, that the existing regulatory environment will not support the required level of investment.

"Currently, we're mandated to operate on a cost-recovery basis and deliver revenue to various levels of government," said Houston. "We're compelled to act on the basis of often narrow and short-term revenue-maximizing considerations, and we have only a fraction of the investment capacity of competing ports in the U.S.

"This approach doesn't account for the strategic importance of ports as a component of public transportation infrastructure. And it won't serve either our user groups or our national economy well in the long-term. It's clear from current trends that many Canadian ports are facing growing competitiveness challenges and some may even be headed towards failure."

Among the specific legislative changes the VPA seeks are amendments that will:

- allow full reinvestment of operating profits (end stipend payments to federal government);

- remove a cap on commercial borrowing;

- resolve the issue of payments-in-lieu-of-taxes;

- provide ports with an ability to issue tax-exempt bonds;

- ensure assets from port land sales are held in trust for future re-investment; and

- remove the current prohibition on public investment in port infrastructure.

Houston noted that the Port of Vancouver has identified growth opportunities across its business sectors ranging from a significant 17 per cent increase in bulk cargoes, to a massive 249 per cent increase in container traffic (between 2001 and 2020). None of this growth will be fully realized, however, without the legislative changes now being sought.

"Growth potential on this scale provides compelling support for the regulatory changes we seek," Houston said. "We look forward to making this case to the federal government, and anticipate strong support from port users and a wide range of other stakeholders."

The Port of Vancouver is Canada's largest and most diversified port, trading more than $29 billion in goods with more than 90 nations. Port activities generate 62,000 jobs in total with $1.6 billion in Gross Domestic Product and $3.5 billion in economic output. Last year, 72.9 million tonnes were shipped through the Port of Vancouver.

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For more information, please contact:

Anne McMullin,
Director, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
Vancouver Port Authority
(604) 665-9069 (office)
(604) 665-9073 (fax)
(604) 218-1403 (cellular)
anne.mcmullin@portvancouver.com

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