CANADA PORT AUTHORITIES

Canada Port Authorities (CPAs) were established under The Canada Marine Act (CMA), which received Royal Assent on June 11, 1998.

CPAs are agents of the Crown only when they are involved in activities related to shipping, navigation, and the transportation and handling of goods and passengers as described in their Letters Patent. For other purposes, for example when borrowing funds, CPAs are not an agent of the federal government. Boards of directors appointed by the federal, provincial and municipal governments are responsible for the management of port authority activities, including decisions related to port authority expenditures.

CPAs are required to be self-sufficient and fund their operations through the revenues that they generate. Under Section 25 of the Canada Marine Act, CPAs are not eligible for federal funding, other than grants of general application or in the case of emergencies.

Transparency of CPA operations is maintained through:

• A public annual report and annual meeting open to the public;
• Annual financial statements to be made available to the public;
• Annual disclosure of remuneration and benefits paid to directors and officers;
• Public land-use plan;
• A financial examination that is to be carried out at least once every five years and the report will be available for inspection by the public; and
• Disclosure under the Access to Information Act.

January 2006