Nanaimo Port Authority will stick with its foreshore lease rate assessment model, following meetings between representatives from Transport Canada, the city, Snuneymuxw First Nation and Nanaimo Marina Association.
The meetings were spurred by complaints from the Nanaimo Marina Association over rapidly rising foreshore lease rates and how those rates are assessed and by recent efforts to form a local non-profit society to replace Nanaimo Port Authority and take over governance of Nanaimo harbour.
Bernie Dumas, port authority president and CEO, said Robert Dick, Transport Canada regional director general, Pacific Region, met with city, Snuneymuxw and Nanaimo Marina Association representatives on April 12 and informed them that federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau “…is pleased with the way Canada’s 18 port authorities operate and that Garneau has no intention of changing the governance model for Nanaimo.”
Dumas said the port authority will proceed early with the 2017 foreshore lease assessment review.
“We’re basically asking lessees, ‘If you have any solid evidence that we are not assessing market level rate, please provide it,’ and we’re asking them within a time limit – I think we’re giving them 60 days – and we’ll take it into consideration while we’re doing the review,” Dumas said.
Dumas went on to say there are about 60 lessees it deals with in Nanaimo, but only only a portion of them will come up for renewal in 2017. The port authority will hold individual meetings with its customers about the assessment review, as required.
“Mr. Dick indicated he wants us to keep him posted and he will monitor the situation and should the people over here want to meet him again he’s willing to come over and discuss it,” Dumas said.