Canada. National Harbours Board : Without its ports Canada would simply not be competitive on the international trade scene. This is what the federal government had in mind when it created the National Harbours Board in 1936, under the Act of the same name 1 Edward VIII, c.42). The Board was established at the recommendation of Sir Alexander Gibb, who had been tasked with studying Canada's disorganized network of harbours in 1934.
The ports, as well as the ways they are administered, have changed tremendously since 1936. Larger ships and improved loading and unloading techniques are the principal reasons for a considerable increase in productivity. Also worth mentioning are the change from steam to diesel-electrical power and more efficient land transportation of merchandise, new shipbuilding and harbour development techniques. The handling of merchandise, at one time very labour intensive, has become very mechanized.
The types of merchandise leaving Canada's ports have, for the most part, remained the same. Grain is still the principal export product. To a certain extent, petroleum replaced coal during the 1970s, although coal still remained a major commodity. Witness to this is the 1982 construction of a large coal terminal on Ridley Island in Prince Rupert harbour.
Pursuant to the Act that established it in 1936 (1 Edward VIII, c.42), the National Harbours Board was responsible for the ports of Halifax, Saint John, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Trois-Rivières, Montreal and Vancouver. Over the years, ports in Newfoundland, Belledune in New Brunswick, Sept-Iles and Baie des Ha! Ha! in Quebec, Churchill in Manitoba and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, as well as the grain elevators of Prescott and Port Colborne in Ontario were also brought under Board authority. Prior to the establishment of the National Harbours Board, each port was the responsibility of a local board of harbour commissioners.
The National Harbours Board mandate was to ensure that ports were profitable and made an efficient and effective contribution to domestic and international trade. It fulfilled this mandate through an investment program aimed at modernizing and enlarging existing port facilities, and building new ones.
On February 24, 1983, the National Harbours Board became the Canada Ports Corporation following the proclamation of the Act by the same name (29-30-31 Elizabeth. II, c.121). The new Act emphasized the need to provide ports with a very wide margin of autonomy while containing them within a national framework. In addition, one of the principal elements of the Act of 1983 was the establishment of local port corporations with greater latitude to manage and control their operations. These port corporations are located in Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Vancouver and Prince Rupert.
In December 1995, the Minister of Transport announced a new national maritime policy. One of the important aspects of this new policy was that the Government of Canada would withdraw from direct involvement in port operations. The policy provided for the establishment of a national network consisting of financially independent ports administered by Canadian Port Authority.
