Federal government announces plans to change how ports work to strengthen supply chain

HALIFAX — On Oct. 11, the Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, announced the completion of the Ports Modernization Review, which aims to advance the role of Canada Port Authorities and optimize their current and future roles. In a constantly changing world, ports need modern and flexible tools that will allow them to respond to increasingly complex challenges. These new tools will enable ports to remain competitive, efficient, and sustainable.

The Minister also announced that the government intends to introduce legislative amendments in the coming months to update the way Canada’s ports are managed and operated based on the results of the Ports Modernization Review.

The proposed legislative changes aim to achieve several key policy objectives, including:

• Adjustments to port governance and financial management to provide ports with the tools to unlock greater performance, efficiency, and productivity in order to be effective instruments of public policy.
• Ports ensure their continued competitiveness and are positioned as strategic enablers of trade and traffic given their central role as intermodal hubs that support supply chain performance and economic growth.
• Strengthen relationships with Indigenous Peoples and local communities through structured engagement to foster alignment of port development and operations, and advance reconciliation
• Ports assume a leadership role in advancing the greening of the marine sector by promoting environmentally sustainable infrastructure and taking action on climate change.
• Port safety and security further protects the transportation system from threats while ensuring that goods move efficiently through the supply chain.

The proposed amendments aim to support the development of a new investment policy for Canada’s ports and port infrastructure to attract investment capital that is critical to the national transportation supply chain for decades to come.

Transport Canada will lead an examination of the complementarity of Canada Port Authorities with a view to supporting greater productivity of these key federal assets.

These upcoming changes aim to addreess the government’s response to the Supply Chain Task Force’s recommendations, particularly around easing port congestion.

“Thanks to the feedback gathered from ports, industry stakeholders, provinces, territories, and municipalities, as well as local and Indigenous communities through the Ports Modernization Review, we can now move forward to strengthen our marine supply chain and help Canadians with the rising cost of living. We plan to advance our current port system to be even more adaptable and agile, helping to build a more resilient, reliable supply chain system for both Canadians and our economy,” said Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport.