No. P2/05 
For release February 8, 2005

WHALETOWN PUBLIC PORT FACILITY 
OFFICIALLY TRANSFERRED TO LOCAL INTERESTS

Whaletown, B.C. — David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry and co-Senior Minister responsible for British Columbia, on behalf of Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre, today announced the official transfer of the Whaletown public port facility, on Cortes Island, to the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island. 

“The Harbour Authority of Cortes Island is to be congratulated for joining the move towards a new era of port management,” said Mr. Emerson. “Having this facility run by local people who best know its role in the community — and its potential for growth — will allow it to function in a more commercial and cost effective manner.”

The Whaletown public port facility is located on Cortes Island at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia, between Campbell River on central Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. The facility includes a seaplane float, a float for vessels, a shed and a derrick. 

The transfer agreement includes a contribution of $400,000 from Transport Canada’s Port Divestiture Fund to offset initial operating costs, such as repairs and ongoing maintenance, for the port facility. Since 1997, the federal government has transferred over 60 regional port facilities into local hands in British Columbia, under the National Marine Policy.

"The aim of the National Marine Policy is to provide Canadians with an efficient and cost-effective ports system," said Mr. Lapierre. "With today’s transfer, the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island, will be able to take greater advantage of these facilities, reduce costs, tailor levels of service to local demand, and have the flexibility to attract new and different types of businesses to Cortes Island."

Transport Canada’s Port Divestiture Program was established in 1996, as part of the National Marine Policy, with the objective of transferring Regional/Local port sites to other interests. In some cases, ports are being transferred as operating ports; in other cases, Crown land and facilities are being transferred to interested parties for other uses. The Whaletown public port facility was one of Transport Canada’s Regional/Local ports, which range from large facilities that support significant local and regional commercial activity to very small facilities with little or no commercial traffic.

Funding for this initiative is built into the current fiscal framework. 

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