It's not something I've discussed with my members, but I would make a comparison with airport authorities, which are federal assets that operate at arm's length from government, and with locally responsive governance and a public interest mandate. Airport authorities are eligible for economic development funds, while port authorities are not.
As I said earlier, the port authorities have borrowing limits, which are time-consuming and difficult to change. It involves working with Transport Canada. It can take years. There may be opportunities for the ports to make their own investments based on the commercial viability of a project and credit-worthiness, but that's not an angle they have access to.
Really, we're looking for more tools that allow port authorities to be nimbler in making the investments they want to make. Federal funding is just one of those tools. Without changing the structure....
We do hope to see greater flexibility come into effect for ports through Minister Alghabra's upcoming port modernization legislation so federal funding is there to fill that gap.