Mr. Speaker, more than 20,000 future jobs in the region may be at stake if the full potential of the port of Halifax is not maximized. We need changes that reflect the economic needs of Atlantic Canada, not the control needs of the minister.
The joint proposal to alter the port authority is consistent with the new Canada Marine Act. In 1997 the predecessor of the Minister of Transport promised to provide local interests with a strong voice in the port's direction. This voice would make Halifax a panamax player instead of a port that unloads the top layer of containers on ships headed for New York.