Federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau has tabled legislation to deal with derelict and abandoned vessels.
Garneau said Bill C-64, the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, would proactively deal with the problem by giving the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks the force of law in Canada.
The bill would also: prohibit vessel abandonment; strengthen owner responsibility and liability for hazardous vessels and wrecks, including costs for cleanup and removal; and empower the federal government to take proactive action on hazardous vessels.
The Sunshine Coast has long been a hot spot for issues involving derelict and abandoned vessels. Transport Canada inspectors were in Sechelt Inlet recently where they boarded one vessel and did a brief survey of others at anchor around Porpoise Bay.
Frank Mauro, Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) director for Pender Harbour, welcomed Mon-day’s announcement. Mauro is also chair of the Harbour Authority in Pender Harbour and a member of the Pacific Region Harbour Authority Advisory Committee. He said the new legislation is a good complement to the programs already announced to help pay for removal of derelict and abandoned vessels and thanked West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky MP Pam Goldsmith-Jones for her work on the file.
“Specifying owner responsibility and insurance requirements, an important component of the Nairobi Convention, is good news and consistent with other jurisdictions that have had success in reducing the number of these vessels of concern contaminating their shores,” Mauro told Coast Reporter.
“We look forward to remaining engaged and hearing the details of the legislation, which will hopefully also lead to the simplification of the regulatory regime for this issue.”
West Howe Sound director Ian Winn has also been calling for federal and provincial action. He describes vessels “lying on our beaches or abandoned on a mooring buoy and possibly presenting an environmental threat” as the back end of the problem.
“I fully support the federal government bill that will prohibit the abandonment of vessels and put the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of boat owners to ensure that they will manage the full life cycle of their vessels in an environmentally acceptable manner, or face the consequences,” he told Coast Reporter.
Sechelt Mayor Bruce Milne also characterized the new legislation as a step in the right direction and praised the local MP’s role. “This will provide some legislative backbone to support the program announced in September. Combined with other initiatives it is much, much more than we have seen from previous governments,” Milne said.
“However, as acknowledged by Minister Garneau, this is just ‘a step’ and many more will be needed before abandoned and derelict vessels no longer pose a threat to our environment.”
Milne and Winn echoed Mauro’s praise for Goldsmith-Jones’ work on the issue.
She was in West Vancouver to make the announcement as Garneau was introducing the bill in Ottawa. In a statement afterwards she said, “The government of Canada is committed to protecting our coasts and waterways. On the occasion of one year of our Oceans Protection Plan, as we introduce the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, I would like to thank the stewardship of volunteers and community partners who have championed this issue from coast to coast to coast.”
The NDP MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith, former Islands Trust chair Sheila Malcolmson, has a private member’s bill on abandoned vessels set for debate in early December.
If passed, Bill C-352 would improve vessel registration, set up a vessel turn-in program pilot project, support vessel recycling, and make the Coast Guard the lead agency responsible for directing the removal of abandoned vessels.
In a release headlined “NDP forces Liberals to introduce legislation on abandoned vessels,” Malcolmson said, “Coastal communities have been sounding the alarm for decades over the risks abandoned vessels pose to the environment, local fishing and tourism jobs. The NDP is encouraged with [Monday’s] news that the government has finally bowed to the pressure of coastal communities and will introduce legislation. Although with the Liberals, it’s often style over substance. We will review the legislation and ensure it lives up to expectations of coastal communities and that it offers real solutions.”
Ottawa’s previously announced Abandoned Boats Program set aside $5.6 million over the next five years to assess, remove and dispose of abandoned vessels, as well as $1.3 million specifically for harbour authorities dealing with abandoned and wrecked vessels in their jurisdictions. It also included $1.25 million over the next five years for “education, awareness and research.”
The Oceans Protection Plan itself came with a budget of $1.5 billion to be spread among several initiatives.
