After years of negotiations through two Councils and three mayors, Port Stanley harbour officially became the property of the Municipality of Central Elgin on September 8, 2010.

The announcement was made at 1:00 p.m. in Glover Park, Port Stanley, with the harbour as a backdrop, and Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Joe Preston making the announcement on behalf of Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Chuck Strahl.

The deal involves a transfer contribution of $13.6 million, "to be used exclusively to cover operational costs and maintain the port's infrastructure", and 64.5 hectares land (of which 52.8 hectares are harbour bed), two breakwaters, two piers and a building. [In 2007 Riggs Engineering said it would cost roughly $10 million to repair the infrastructure of the harbour.] Transport Canada has also undertaken to complete the environmental risk assessment and remediation of the berm to parkland standards and will continue to hold environmental liability should something crop up in the future in relation to their stewardship of the land while it was under their ownership.

As Joe Preston had a bit of difficulty controlling the emotions in his voice as spoke of our late Mayor Sylvia Hofhuis' involvement in the harbour divestiture process, but stated how pleased he was that the harbour was now fully in our own hands and that "it is an important part of our community's assets and I look forward to its future development."

"It may not have been everything that everyone wanted," Mayor Tom Marks said of the negotiated harbour deal, "but it is what we needed." Though the deal does not afford such things as building a new Stork Club or a marina, he noted it was the best deal that could have been achieved. "It's enough to make the harbour lands an asset for community development without becoming a burden on the taxpayer. That was our goal from the beginning [and] that has been accomplished." Marks also praised municipal senior staff for their part in the harbour negotiations.

Lead consultant Mark Conway noted that the process took everyone through uncharted territory, with a huge government department, Transport Canada, engaging in flexibility and creative thinking as the negotiations moved from maintaining Port Stanley as a commercial harbour to re-inventing it as a recreational harbour which includes our commercial fishing fleet. Transport Canada's move to undertake environmental remediation of the berm to parkland, instead of industrial/commercial use standards, was also a first. "On the environmental front, no community that has taken over its port has ended up with a better result."

"Port Stanley has a storied past. With the guidance of local hands and local hearts, we will build a great new story for our future," said Marks, pointing to Stratford's success as it built the Stratford Festival Theatre into what it is today as an example of what Central Elgin might be able to accomplish with Port Stanley harbour. "That's where we need the community to believe in itself, to be creative, to reinvest in itself."

Speaking to Deputy Mayor David Marr after the announcement he said "I feel fantastic...a little bit of relief. Looking forward to the future. This is just one chapter, a big chapter, a huge chapter, but now we get to go forward and look at all the possibilities that there are out there."
Councillor Sally Martyn confirmed that all of Council had been kept informed and consulted at every step along the way. "At no point were we out of the loop on things," she said.

A lot of people and many of those running in this election were present for this announcement and media buzzed around candidates like flies, looking for their spin on what happens next. Fully engaging the public in where we go from here on how this harbour is developed will be the challenge facing the new Council following the October 25th election. It's ours now, and the dollar figure that came with it means it will take careful management to ensure it lives up to its full potential and does not become a burden on the taxpayer in the future.