When Vicki Gruber was a kid growing up in Stoney Creek, she loved to watch the cargo ships pass from Lake Ontario to the Hamilton Harbour through the Burlington Canal.
Now, as Hamilton’s harbour master, she’s in charge of making sure such vessels transit safely — and as one of only two women in Canada to hold that title, she’s also paving the way for other women in the marine industry.
Gruber, who has worked at the Hamilton port for 18 years, started out as a port patrol officer. She was the first woman in that role at the port as well, and