SYDNEY ? If the burning question going into the port summit was what?s next, one of the answers that has emerged is the need to formalize the roles of the major players in port development.
Mayor Cecil Clarke said the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, which hosted the two-day summit with the Cape Breton County Economic Development Authority and Sydney Ports Corporation, is eager to build on the important discussions that took place among stakeholders and industry experts at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion in Sydney.
Step one, according to the mayor, is to have an issue paper formulated and brought before council.
?An issues paper will be formed and put together with the recommendations of next steps and those recommendations will come forward in the public forum of council and be reported publicly to maintain the transparency that everyone desires,? he said.
Clarke said port development is at a critical point and another step the municipality must take is to formally approach other levels of government on the file.
?We as a municipality have to engage the provincial and federal governments officially. That has not been done,? he said. ?We have to formalize our relationship and our roles and our expectations of what the other orders of government can do.?
The summit, which brought together business executives, politicians, government officials, and individuals with a vested interested in Sydney port development, concluded Friday with presentations and a panel discussion. Issues covered during the event were wide-ranging ? from the worker training that will be required as the port develops, to balancing industrial and residential needs, to the need for long-term planning for the port.
On Thursday, summit participants heard from consultants hired by the CBRM that two ?world-class? developers are interested in constructing a $500-million deep-sea container terminal on the CBRM-owned greenfield site at the Sydport Industrial Park, but due to confidentiality agreements, the interested developers couldn?t be named at this point.
However, Clarke has been informed of who the two entities are, he confirmed Friday.
?Because of the non-disclosure agreements in place and because you?re dealing with companies that are potentially publicly-traded, there are requirements, and very strict requirements,? he said. ?So because of that it?s one of those things where you want to say but can?t say.?
He noted that having knowledge of the developers has allowed him to validate to council that there are legitimate parties interested.
?We?ll now go to next steps and follow up with those two parties. I will have those meetings and look at what we have to do to engage the provincial and federal governments based upon those discussions and then we will bring that back and formalize it appropriately,? he said.
As those discussions happen and next steps are taken, Derek Baker, economic development officer of the Prince Rupert and Port Edward Economic Development Corporation, advised port stakeholders to communicate clearly and honestly with the wider community.
?One of the lessons we learned in Prince Rupert was when the container port was being developed there was a big job of selling how big of a benefit it was going to be the community and one of the things that we did not do was talk about how those are long-term benefits,? he said. ?When the ribbon-cutting ceremony was happening everyone expected this huge boom that didn?t come until five years later.?
?Whatever you do going forward, just be realistic and manage expectations in the community,? said Baker.
Eileen Lannon Oldford, CEO of CBCEDA, said they will endeavour to follow that advice as port development unfolds.
?Economic development is a tough, tough job. It is not an easy process but I think if we really do an excellent communication process, I think the taxpayer will stay with us. I think they will see the? benefits,? she said.
ljgrant@cbpost.com
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