Pelee looks to take over Scudder Wharf

Transport Canada, township talking

Transport Canada is in negotiations with the Township of Pelee over the transfer of the island’s Scudder Wharf Facility.

“We’ve had some dialogue about it,” Pelee Mayor Rick Masse said. “They expressed an interest in offloading it and we formally showed an interest in obtaining it.”

The wharf was once integral to the movement of goods and featured a grain elevator, which was torn down years ago.

“It’s part of the marina which we lease from the federal government,” Masse said.

The wharf serves as one of the protective walls to the marina.

“We’d be able to expand the marina a bit,” Masse said about its future possibilities. “And we could offer the wharf for a private ferry service if we wanted to.”

Masse said the wharf “is one of three entranceways to the island and council felt it was in our best interests to keep it under our control.”

Transport Canada issued a public notice of the negotiations as required by law. Both sides are bound by a disclosure agreement not to discuss details of the negotiation.

Shifting control of the wharf, which sits at the north end of the island, is part of a larger Transport Canada initiative.

“The Ports Asset Transfer Program is a Government of Canada program designed to facilitate the transfer of Transport Canada-owned port facilities to local interests,” said TC spokeswoman Demetra Vlogiannitis.

“This program offers an excellent opportunity for interested parties to acquire a port facility and develop it to take advantage of local business, community development, and tourism opportunities.”

Vlogiannitis said the federal government has been transferring ownership and operation of Transport Canada port facilities since the National Marine Policy was introduced in 1995.

“New ownership can help these facilities thrive and contribute to economic growth, jobs and investments in the community by providing a new operator with the flexibility to expand or improve port facilities,” Vlogiannitis said.