Port Colborne Vital Link for North American Economy

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Julia Fields (613) 233-8779 ext. 3

Ottawa, Ontario (July 29th, 2010) — The Chamber of Marine Commerce would like to congratulate the Port of Colborne on its 32nd Annual Canal Days Marine Heritage celebration. Raymond Johnston, president of the Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC), said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers that make this festival such a success each year. The Welland Canal and the Port Colborne community are an integral part of the marine transportation industry in the Great Lakes-Seaway System. It is important to have events like these to remind us of the role that marine activities have played in the past but also to celebrate how we continue to work together for a prosperous future.”

Johnston continued: “As the industry’s recent Marine Delivers campaign illustrates, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway System, is an indispensible link in the supply chain of the North American economy. It carries coal, iron ore, stone, gravel and grain to our factories, building sites and food manufacturers.

“Just as one example, the marine industry delivers about one hundred million tons of iron ore each year. Whether mined in Minnesota or Quebec, the marine industry delivers the iron ore that feeds just about every steel mill in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Ontario. Much of that is shipped through the Welland Canal. This iron ore becomes the cars we drive, the buildings we work in and much of the infrastructure we travel on everyday.”

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Marine Delivers is a bi-national, industry collaboration that aims to demonstrate the economic contribution and environmental sustainability of the shipping industry throughout the Great Lakes region. The Marine Delivers initiative is administered by the American Great Lakes Ports Association in the United States, and the Chamber of Marine Commerce in Canada. For more information, visit the Marine Delivers website at www.marinedelivers.com.