Hamilton Port Authority

The Hamilton Port Authority, created in 2001, replaced the Hamilton Harbour Commission.[1] It derives its mandate from the Canada Marine Act, an act of Canada's federal Parliament. Hamilton is one of 19 Canadian ports that had port authorities created, because they were deemed essential to Canada's economic welfare.

In 2013 a controversy was triggered when no organization in Hamilton was available to fight a highly visible marine fire.[2] According to CBC News, neither Hamilton Fire Services or Hamilton Police Services thought they had a mandate to fight marine fires. The port authority had once operated a tugboat with some firefighting ability, but that vessel was no longer operational.

The port authority's mandate includes managing valuable waterfront properties.[3][4] According to the Hamilton Spectator, in October 2013 Bruce Wood, the President of the Port Authority, speculated that the recent announcement that US Steel would be closing its last steel mill in Hamilton represented an opportunity for the Port Authority to buy the 328 hectares (810 acres) site of that mill, which could then be made available for other industrial entreprises, who would then create new jobs there.

The Port Authority reported that the volume of cargo shipped through the port remained stable in 2013, with grain shipments up and shipment related to the steel industry down.[5] The amount of cargo shipped by rail went up, while cargo shipped by water went down.

References

  1. ↑ "Organization Profile - Hamilton Port Authority". Government of Canada. 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  2. ↑ Cory Ruf (2013-09-26). "Is Hamilton prepared to handle a big boat fire?". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2014-01-01. Neither the Hamilton Fire Department nor the Hamilton Port Authority have active vessels that are equipped to fight fires on the water. And the Canadian Coast Guard couldn't say on Thursday what resources its two science ships that list Burlington as their home port have to respond to boat fires in the bay.
  3. ↑ Steve Arnold (2013-12-28). "Industrial parks reaching capacity: Action needed now to avert future land crunch". Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on 2014-01-21. By the numbers, Hamilton's inventory of land for new employers consists of 9,831 acres of ground in nine business parks as well as 600 acres controlled by the Hamilton Port Authority.
  4. ↑ "Hamilton Port Authority keen on U.S. Steel land potential". Metro News Hamilton. 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2014-01-01. “We find ourselves running out of land for new investment; if the U.S. Steel property became available, we could put it to productive use, generating jobs and economic growth for the city,” Bruce Wood, port authority president and CEO, told The Spectator in an emailed statement.
  5. ↑ Steve Arnold (2014-01-21). "Grain keeps port afloat: Steel shipments down, but wheat, soybeans, corn help compensate". Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on 2014-01-21. The Hamilton Port Authority said in a news release Monday while overall volume through the port was essentially flat last year, grain and the volume of cargo moved in and out of the port by train continue to grow as steel volume slumps.