Saint John Port Authority : The Saint John Port Authority was created under legislation which received Royal Assent 9 December 1997, and subsequent to P.C. decision 1999-0642, Letters Patent were issued on 1 May 1999 under the authority of subsection12(1) of the Canada Marine Act. The Saint John Port Authority is the federal body responsible for the operation and conduct of normal affairs by the Port of Saint John New Brunswick.
Saint John Port Authority exists since the middle of the eighteenth century. It grew and took importance due to the end of the american revolution and the settling of the Loyalist around Saint John. In 1785, the city of Saint John was established by Royal Charter.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the port grew and became involved with international shipping and organizations outside the city increasingly made decisions for the port. The federal government, railway companies and shipping lines were among these organizations. The Canadian government nationalized and took control of the Port of Saint John in 1927, making it a Federal port.
In 1936, the federal government created the National Harbours Board that has centralized the ports. The port of Saint John was naturally part of this new institution up to 1983, year where the Board were replaced by the Canada Ports Corporation. This new institution emphasized the need to provide ports with a wide margin of autonomy while containing them within a national framework. In addition, one of the principal elements of the Act of 1983 was the establishment of local port corporations with greater latitude to manage and control their operations. It's in this spirit that the Saint John Port Corporation were created. This structure was in force up to 1995 where the Minister of Transport announced a new national maritime policy. One of the important aspects of this new policy was that the Government of Canada would withdraw from direct involvement in port operations. It is since that time that Saint Jonh Port is constitued as an independent Port Authority.
The objective of the Saint John Port Authority is to ensure efficient goods and passenger traffic through the port of Saint John, and to serve the best interests of Canadians by operating a safe, competitive, profitable and reliable services and facilities.
The Port Authority is administered by a board of directors that reports to the Government of Canada through the Minister of Transport.
