IT'S NOT MONTREAL PORT'S JOB TO WEED OUT WATERFRONT CRIMINALS: PORT
PRESIDENT

MONTREAL (CP) - The head of the Montreal Port Authority deflected
blame Friday for drug and gang activity on the waterfront, urging
police and sub-contractors to crack down on crooked port workers.

Dominic Taddeo said that companies whose employees work at the federal
port must take responsibility for screening out drug dealers,
smugglers and other wrongdoers who move contraband through the
facility.

He added that he had no idea an inspector at the port allegedly
collaborated with a notorious local gang in a drug ring that was
busted by police last month.

"I can't dictate to these people because they're not my employees,"
Taddeo said following a news conference to honour the first
ocean-going vessel to travel through the port this year.

"Coming on to the port you have truckers, you have railway people, you have
freight forwarders, you have customs.

"They are not our employees."

Taddeo has faced questions about criminal activity at the port ever
since police dismantled the alleged drug ring in early December.

The ring allegedly moved tonnes of cocaine and hashish through the port
between 1999 and 2001.

Among those arrested was a member of the checkers' union, which
oversees container movements at the port.

Despite concerns about crime and security, Taddeo said container
traffic and profit margins at the port were "extremely encouraging" in 2002.

Among the results to be released later this month, the president noted:

- - An eight-per-cent increase in container traffic in 2002,
representing an additional 700,000 tonnes of cargo. The port handles
about 20 million tonnes of cargo a year.

- - More than one million containers handled by the port last year.

- - Between $5 million and $5.5 million in net profits for the 2002
calendar year.

- - $21 million in capital spending for 2002, with an additional $27
million in projected capital spending for 2003.

The port authority is expected to cut costs in 2003 to pave the way for
$1.5 million in increased security measures, said Taddeo.

That's on top of the two X-ray machines that Canada Customs plans to
install at the port to screen cargo, he said. One of the units is
expected to be up and running by the end of the month.

The enhanced security measures have not quieted critics who contend gang
activity is rampant at Canada's ports.

A scathing Senate report released last March said gangs at the ports
of Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver deal in drugs, stolen cars,
contraband tobacco and container theft.

But Daniel Tremblay, president of the Port of Montreal Longshoremen's
Union, said Friday the report's findings were overblown.

"We don't see any (crime)," Tremblay said in an interview.

"The only thing we do is load and unload the ships."

Taddeo said the port checker who was arrested last month worked for an
independent inspection agency, not the port authority.

He added it's the job of the police, not his administration, to
investigate illicit waterfront activity.

"When the police or customs decide to do a drug raid, they don't tell
anyone and that's the way it should be."

Taddeo said his office has issued a memo urging all clients and
contractors using the port to call the police if they spot any illegal
activity.

Capt. Ashwani K. Engineer, master of the container ship Canmar
Courage, was presented with a gold-headed cane on Friday to mark the
beginning of a new year of activity at the port.

His ship, flying the Bermuda flag, entered port territory at 11:04
a.m. on New Year's Day, and he's believed to be the first Indian
captain ever to claim the trophy.