Saskatchewan seeks greater representation on Vancouver Fraser Port Authority

A lack of representation on the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority board has the government of Saskatchewan looking to see changes in the near future.

The province announced Friday that it was joining a growing list of groups calling for reform of the VFPA board, largely to address a discrepancy in how Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba are represented.

Only one of the 11 current board members represents the Prairie provinces, with eight of those appointed by the federal government, one by British Columbia and one by the communities that border the port authority.

“As a group, the western provinces make up 85 per cent of the Port’s export value, but only have nine per cent of the representation on the board,” Premier Scott Moe said. “We believe that model does not provide balanced representation for the prairie provinces and are asking for the VFPA board to be restructured.”

The numbers are impressive: in 2019, Saskatchewan exported $13.5 billion worth of goods through the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and in 2020, the four Western provinces were the source of 98.9 million tonnes of cargo worth $78.2 billion shipped through the port.

To address the issue, the government is asking the board be restructured so: 

• The federal government appoints two members.
• The provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba each appoint two members recommended by Port users.
• The municipalities that border the port authority's jurisdiction appoint one member.

Transport Canada is currently looking into an overall modernization of the nation’s ports, the timing of which has seen the Premiers of the three prairie provinces write to Prime Minister Trudeau to express a willingness to engage and work with the federal government on the port governance structure.