OTTAWA – The federal government has cleared the way for the Jan. 1, 1997 transferral of St. Lawrence Seaway operations to companies which use it.
Last week, a group of shipper and carrier companies signed an agreement in principle to take control of the waterway.
Now, the group will sit down with Transport Canada bureaucrats to work out the fine print. If they keep to schedule, the companies will set up a non-profit company that will usher in the new year by officially displacing the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority as the operator of the waterway.
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The government will continue to own the assets of the seaway, opened in 1959.
“Having the users of the system operating and managing the seaway will make it a more efficient and competitive link with our international trading partners,” said transport minister David Anderson in a statement announcing the deal.
The users’ group includes three grain companies – Cargill Ltd., James Richardson and Sons and Louis Dreyfus Corp. – as well as shipping and steel companies.
One government requirement is that the group agree not to “unjustly discriminate” against other seaway users who may be their competitors but are not part of the company.
For major seaway users not in the operating group, including the Canadian Wheat Board, the change in operators will not affect service, say representatives for the group.
The government also is promising incentives to the new operating company to reduce seaway costs.
However, a key figure in the group has warned that users should not expect tolls to decrease, even if costs can be cut.
“I don’t think there will be a toll reduction,” said Al Donaldson, chair of Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. of Toronto and St.#Catharines. “Our hope would be that we could hold the line or keep increases to a minimum.”
Last week, another spokesperson for the user group said keeping costs down will be key to keeping the seaway viable.
“We recognize that the seaway must be cost competitive and maintain high safety standards if it is to continue to attract shippers who might otherwise choose alternate routes to move their bulk goods,” group spokesperson Robert Swenor said in a statement issued by Transport Canada to announce the deal. But some hurdles remain.
Marine Act debated
When Parliament reconvenes in mid-September, debate resumes on the Canada Marine Act which will authorize the “commercialization” of the seaway. It is to be approved in the autumn.
Reform transport spokesperson Jim Gouk said last week his party will not delay the bill, but he questioned whether the Liberal approach to the project is flawed.
Gouk said the government must try harder to work out an agreement with the Americans that the U.S. will pick up a fair share of renovation costs in future.
Canada has long complained that it pays more than its fair share of seaway costs.
The Americans do not charge tolls on the locks they operate and have shown no interest in joining the Canadian commercial effort.
Anderson has been in Washington this year to talk with Americans about the future of the seaway. He raised the possibility that one international company operate the seaway for both countries.
The transport minister says American reluctance to change the way it deals with the seaway does not jeopardize Canada’s plans.
