Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to appear today.
My name is Lorna Campbell. I'm a professional engineer and the CEO of the Port of Sydney Development Corporation.
The Port of Sydney Development Corporation is a self-funded not-for-profit organization that was originally established in 2002. We have a community-based board of directors, including representation from the Membertou and Eskasoni first nations and the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. I'm here to speak to what is practically needed to support, diversify and modernize Canada's ports, based on our direct experience.
Sydney Harbour is a year-round deepwater, sheltered port located on the northeastern shores of Cape Breton Island. We are strategically located approximately six miles off the North Atlantic great circle route. Sydney commands the Cabot Strait and is truly the gateway to the north.
Sydney is a federally owned public port. The submerged lands remain under federal ownership, while the port assets have been either transferred or sold. There is no official single local authority responsible for harbour-wide operations and coordination. Revenues generated by port activity are not consistently reinvested into the harbour. Critical infrastructure gaps persist, which limit our ability to grow and compete.
The port board has prioritized the resolution of the decades-old governance issues in Sydney. The Cape Breton Regional Municipality council unanimously supports the establishment of a local harbour authority, with the port corporation recognized as the unifying local proponent to advance governance modernization with Transport Canada. That level of alignment reflects both the urgency of the challenge and the opportunities facing us. Without effective port governance, opportunities are missed, and we risk trade and investment being diverted elsewhere. Viewed from a high level, modernizing Canada's ports is not just about infrastructure, but about governance, connectivity and the ability to reinvest and compete globally.
If ports are the gateway, rail is what connects Canada to global markets. We consistently see that ports with integrated rail connections are able to move goods more efficiently, attract larger-scale investments and access broader domestic and international markets. Without rail, even well-positioned ports struggle to compete, regardless of their geographic advantages, which are self-evident in Sydney Harbour.
In Sydney, we are advancing a practical governance model that reflects what's needed nationally. We are proposing the establishment of a local harbour authority for the port of Sydney through a management agreement with Transport Canada. Under this model, federal ownership and jurisdiction remain unchanged. However, a locally governed authority would be responsible for coordinating operations, improving efficiency and reinvesting revenues generated by harbour activity.
Importantly, this model fills an existing governance gap and forms the catalyst needed to advance strategic port planning and investments. It is a catalyst to access new global markets more directly, to support emerging industries such as offshore wind and critical minerals, to bolster defence capabilities and to strengthen Canada's overall supply chain resilience.
Without governance reform, infrastructure investments lack coordination and long-term sustainability. Without connectivity, governance reform cannot translate into economic growth. The two must work together.
From a federal perspective, there are three practical actions that can help unlock this opportunity. We recommend the following. First, enable and support management agreement models that allow for locally governed harbour authorities. Second, provide barrier-free transitional funding to fast-track strategic port investments and the establishment of sustainable local operations, bridging the gap between current constraints and long-term self-sufficiency. Third, recognize rail and intermodal connectivity as core components of port modernization.
In closing, Sydney Harbour is not a theoretical opportunity. It's a locally supported, ready-to-implement example of how Canada can modernize port governance, strengthen supply chains and advance trade diversification today. With the right tools, this model can be replicated in other regions across the country.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.