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PORT COLBORNE CALLS FOR PROVINCIAL MARINE STRATEGY

OTHER PLACES LIKE QUEBEC, MICHIGAN, OHIO, WISCONSIN AND MINNESOTA ALREADY HAVE SIMILAR STRATEGIES IN PLACE

NICK FEARNS nfearns@niagara thisweek.com

When it comes to creating a transportation strategy for the province, there is something important that the City of Port Colborne has to be included in.

Any transportation strategy needs to include a provincial marine strategy, they say.

Kevin Reles is the facility manager at Ceres Global Ag's Port Colborne facility, formerly Robin Hood Multifoods.

He said the facility, located where the weir and canal meet in the city's north end, has taken in cargo from three ships so far this season. Reles said it was a personal goal to handle more than nine ships, but admitted it was a bit out of his control.

A new addition to the facility is a grain dryer.

He said they currently have seven employees. When they used to produce flour, they employed 70.

"We are working to get it back to where it was," he said.

Reles said the Ceres location works with London Agricultural Commodities (LAC) to support suppliers and producers across Niagara and southern Ontario, with wheat and other grains coming in from June through August and corn and soybeans from October through December.

He said he was glad to see the Hamilton-Oshawa

Port Authority (HOPA) in the city.

"They are a great go between the government and private sector," Reles said.

Larissa Fenn is the director of public affairs and corporate secretary for HOPA.

"We have this sort of amazing marine connection between communities all along the Great Lakes where that has capacity, unlike the highways in our region," said Fenn.

"The Great Lakes St. Lawrence system has room to help with that quite acute congestion problem that Ontario has. We think that should be something that is on the province's radar."

Maguessa Morel-Laforce, director of government and stakeholder relations for the Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC), said Quebec, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota already have similar strategies in place.

"Ontario will be better positioned to leverage existing funding programs at the federal level, such as the National Trade Corridors Fund, which provides resources for port infrastructure projects," said Morel-Laforce.

"The strategy is also an opportunity to galvanize resources to have a greater impact on job creation, training and maximizing existing resources."

The CMC said an Ontario Marine Strategy "should include an ongoing assessment of the state of existing infrastructure against the increasing impacts of climate change."

Ontario should "build its marine strategy around intermodality and interoperability, by strengthening connections between rail, road and port infrastructure to optimize and diversify its transportation options," said Morel-Laforce.

"CMC members committed to work toward decarbonization of marine shipping by 2050, which will require supply and availability of alternative fuels, such as biodiesel and liquified natural gas, which should be made available to ship operators."

Bram Cotton, the city's economic development officer, said there is currently land that is underutilized, and a marine strategy could help to develop or redevelop those areas.

"We have to stay competitive and continue to move forward," said Cotton. "We're such a vital part of the length of the Seaway, from Montreal to Milwaukee, we are at the centre of it. We would like to see some investment."

"Port Colborne has a working waterfront with a strong marine industrial sector; plus, there is an increase in shipping through the Welland Canal," said Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele.

This year, the city will be visited by more than 60 cruise ships.

The city boasts the third largest marina in Ontario, Sugarloaf Marina, with almost 700 boat slips.

"Renewing our port infrastructure requires significant capital investment, and an Ontario Marine Strategy, not unlike the Quebec Maritime Strategy, would provide a much-needed policy and funding framework to support investments at the municipal level," said Mayor Steele.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: After hearing about the city's call for the province to develop a marine strategy, Niagara this Week learned what a marine strategy would mean for the city and local marine-based businesses.

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2022-05-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

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