HAMILTON PORT AUTHORITY ACCOUNTABLE

Dear karin larson,

I refer to your editorial and letter from Randy Desnoyers in

the January/February/05 edition. I think it is a pity that you

did not check out some of the background before coming to

the conclusions that you did.

To answer your last point first: as a Canadian Port

Authority, we are accountable to lots of stakeholders but

ultimately to the Government of Canada through its elected

representatives. We operate under the Canada Marine Act

and Letters Patent specific to our Port. This requires us to be

financially self sufficient and operate in a commercial manner.

As President & CEO, I report to a Board of Directors much as

I would in any public company. Four members of the Board

of Directors are nominated by port user groups and

appointed by the Transport Minister and the three levels of

government each appoint one, for a total of seven.

The Port Authority in Hamilton does not receive any

subsidies. Quite the reverse! We pay a stipend to the Federal

government based on gross revenue, irrespective of

profitability, and PILTS, Payment in Lieu of Taxes, to the

Municipal Government based on property assessment similar

to the normal commercial property tax assessment. Salaries of

Senior Management are determined by the Board based on

market surveys and are certainly not excessive. The Board,

like any public Board, also determines its own remuneration

based on market comparisons and also, in my view, not

excessive in our case, given the responsibilities and liabilities

they undertake.

We have two businesses. The Commercial Port Operations

that is the primary function of the Port Authority under the

Canada Marine Act, and Recreational Boating. It is our

intention to continue to remain in the marina business and

grow it. We are currently negotiating with the City of

Hamilton an extension of our lease on Pier 7, as they now own the

land. We expect to be a long-term partner with the City but they

have the fmal control over whether Marina operations remain in the

north end of Hamilton Harbour and in what form. In the meantime

we are also exploring a new development at Fisherman's Pier

including a brand new marina. Unnecessarily restricting access to

our marinas would not help them to be profitable.

We do not and cannot provide all the services that a boater

requires. However we do have standards that we expect our

tenants and contractors to meet in the overall interest of the users

as well as the environment Our marina is open to brokers and

maintenance suppliers subject only to the normal business

courtesy and evidence of adequate insurance coverage. With the

additional Security requirements placed on us by the ISPS code we

will be more demanding in ensuring that people abide by the rules.

I hope this clears up any misconceptions. You should not

generalize on the basis of one individual with an axe to

grind. If you would like to visit the Port and experience first

hand what we are doing today and planning for the future

you would be very welcome.

Keith Robson, President & CEO,

Hamilton Harbour Port Authority

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