No. H017/99
For release February 25, 1999

APPOINTMENTS TO VANCOUVER PORT AUTHORITY

OTTAWA — Transport Minister David Collenette today announced the appointment of George Arthur Adams of West Vancouver, B.C., Denis J. Côté of Calgary, Joanna Kong of Richmond, B.C., and Robert Allan Friesen, Carol A. Lee and David H.R. Stowe, all of Vancouver, to the board of directors of the Vancouver Port Authority, effective March 1, 1999.

"The newly established Canada Port Authority at Vancouver will benefit from greater management flexibility, including increased freedom to develop contracts and leases, set tariffs and fees, and borrow money from commercial lenders," said Mr. Collenette. "The combined experience of these six individuals in financial and port business affairs, along with their proven record of community involvement, will serve them well as they take up their duties on the board of directors of the port authority."

Mr. Adams retired from MacMillan Bloedel Limited as vice-president of transportation in 1997, after 27 years of service. He held a number of executive positions with the company’s subsidiaries, including vice-president and general manager, between 1977 and 1981, and president, between 1981 and 1997, of Canadian Transport Company Ltd. Mr. Adams, whose seagoing career goes back to 1954, has served as a member of the Pacific Pilotage Authority.

Mr. Côté, who received his B.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Alberta, retired in 1991 as chairman and CEO of the UMA Group Ltd. after 31 years of service. He currently serves as a director of the Potash Corporation of Canada Inc., Startech Energy and Medicine Hat Towers. Mr. Côté had served on the board of directors of the Vancouver Port Corporation since 1992.

Ms. Kong, who graduated from the Hong Kong Institute of Education, is the vice-president of the Wayfoong House Branch of the Hongkong Bank of Canada. She worked as a senior manager at the Bank of Montreal between 1977 and 1993. Ms. Kong currently serves as director of the CCF Community Care Foundation, the Hong Kong Merchants’ Association of Vancouver and the Holy Family Hospital Vancouver, and as a member of the Vancouver Board of Trade and the Canadian Club.

Mr. Friesen, who received his B.Comm. from UBC, is the president of Financial Solutions Inc. and Pacific Radiator Mfg. Ltd., and director and secretary of the Melville Mortgage Investment Corporation. A chartered accountant since 1969, he was a partner at Coopers Lybrand in Toronto and Vancouver between 1972 and 1988, and served as senior vice-president of finance for Larco Investment Ltd. between 1988 and 1990. Mr. Friesen also served on the board of the Vancouver Port Corporation.

Ms. Lee, who received her B.Comm. from UBC and her MBA from Harvard, is president of the Prospero Group and a director of the Vancouver Foundation. She previously served the Prospero Group as portfolio analyst in Vancouver, between 1983 and 1984, and as project manager in Houston, between 1984 and 1985. She also served as merchandise controller, between 1987 and 1989, of the Wild Pair store, a subsidiary of the Edison Brothers Stores Inc. of St. Louis.

Mr. Stowe, who received his B.Comm. in marketing and finance from UBC, retired in 1996 as corporate vice-president of trade relations for Scott Paper Limited, which he first joined in 1958. He currently serves as a member of the Grocery Product Manufacturing Association’s sales council, as chairman of specialities papers for the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, and as marketing council director of the Conference Board of Canada. Mr. Stowe had served on the board of the Vancouver Port Corporation since 1998.

The Government of British Columbia also named Mr. Mike Harcourt to the board of directors. The municipal government named Mr. Wayne Hartrick.

The Vancouver Port Authority is the Canada Port Authority (CPA) established to manage Port Vancouver, effective March 1, 1999, under the new Canada Marine Act. The Act provides the legislative framework to improve the effectiveness of Canada’s major ports by creating a National Ports System made up of independently managed CPAs; streamlining the regulatory regime for the new CPAs and other ports currently administered by Transport Canada; and dissolving the Canada Ports Corporation, thereby significantly reducing overhead costs for major ports.

Port Vancouver, which has a natural deep-water harbour, is the largest port in Canada and on the west coast of North America. Its activities include cargo terminals, cruise terminals, industries requiring tidewater access, shipyards, tugboats, railways, trucks, shipping agents, freight forwarders, suppliers, builders, and administrative agencies. Total traffic in 1998 was 72 million tones, including 64.5 million tones in foreign exports.

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Contact:

Peter Gregg,
Communications Advisor,
Office of the Minister of Transport, Ottawa,
(613) 991-0700

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