Dubai, or Not Dubai?

That's not really the question at all.

By Scott Berinato

February 27, 2006 — CSO — The Grinch said it best: "Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!"

The controversy over shifting the management of some U.S. and Canadian ports to Dubai Ports, a company controlled in part by the government of the United Arab Emirates, has generated plenty of sound and fury. Republicans shouting at republicans. Port authorities threatening to block out potential tenants. Mayors and governors shouting at the president. Veto threats. Veto override threats. Hillary Clinton and Bill Frist on the same team! Depending on whom you ask, the deal is either a national security risk or business as usual. Scuttling the deal is either prudent patriotism or rank racism. Let's be honest: Most of us have no clue at all what to think, and the more information and invective that's shouted back and forth, the more politicized it gets, the less likely we'll be able to form a cogent opinion.

Ostensibly, all this noise is about security. So let's ask someone who, you know, works in that field. Graham Kee is the director of security for the Vancouver Port Authority. Centerm is a container and break bulk cargo facility within the port. It's operated by P&O Ports Canada, and it is part of the Dubai Ports deal. Kee's reaction to the noise is remarkably, refreshingly quiet. "We've approved assignment of that lease," he says, and then stops talking. Silence.

What does he make of the political maelstrom? "People reacted without the proper knowledge," he says and, again stops talking. More silence.

The question of whether this particular company should gain a role in U.S. and Canadian ports isn't terribly relevant, Kee eventually says. The questions people should be asking if they are truly concerned about security and not just political grandstanding are: What processes ensure that this, or any port deal, is safe? How do we know we can trust anyone who gains access to ports?

And for those kinds of questions, Kee completely mutes the noise: "Look, it doesn't matter if it's someone from another country or within Canada trying to manage the port. We want to make sure we have a reputable company. We want to make sure they are financially viable and meet our security standards. As for security in the terminal, the labor force doesn't change; the people who ship don't change; the import-export function doesn't change. The fact that the terminal must do a yearly vulnerability assessment doesn't change. The fact that Transport Canada approves that vulnerability assessment doesn't change. The fact that a security plan has to be prepared on an annual basis and it also has to be approved by the government doesn't change. The RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] and local law enforcement still police the ports.

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