No. A008/04 For release October 28, 2004 CORNERBROOK, NL - Transport Canada and the Corner Brook Port Corporation (CBPC) have reached an understanding on the terms and conditions for the transfer of the port of Corner Brook to the local entity. This announcement was made today by Humber-St.Barbe-Baie Verte MP Gerry Byrne, on behalf of Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre, together with Corner Brook Port Corporation Chairperson Ray Pollett. "We have reached an important milestone in the transfer process," said Mr. Byrne. "We can now expect that in the near future, the management of this port will be placed in the hands of local people who know what's best for this community and who will work hard to make this a viable and growing port." The next step in the transfer process will consist in drafting a final transfer agreement to formalize into a legal document what has been discussed verbally. The actual transfer agreement is now expected to be finalized in November 2004. The terms and conditions that have been discussed include a financial contribution of approximately $15 million from the Government of Canada. The CBPC is a not-for-profit local entity that has been established to promote the development of the Port of Corner Brook. The property to be transferred includes the Corner Brook Container Terminal Wharf, a transit shed, an office building, approximately 3 hectares of upland property and the Port of Corner Brook harbour bed. "The Corner Brook Port Corporation is very excited at the opportunity of becoming responsible for developing our port facilities and promoting our services within the Atlantic region and around the world," said Mr. Pollett. "Once we take over ownership of the port facilities, our goal is to make Corner Brook one of Atlantic Canada's premier ports." "The National Marine Policy enables ports to respond more effectively to the needs of their customers," said Mr. Lapierre. "The better use of transportation infrastructure in this manner will ultimately help increase trade, tourism and job creation." In July 2003, Transport Canada signed a Letter of Intent with the CBPC to initiate formal negotiations to transfer the ownership of the public port and public port facilities to the CBPC. The Port of Corner Brook is 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. 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. - 30 - Contact: Maurice Landry Communications, Transports Canada (506) 851 7562 Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at apps.tc.gc.ca/listserv/ and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada. This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons with visual disabilities.
