Environment Canada gave their approval to sink a decommissioned warship in Halkett Bay Marine Park this week, but the provincial government still needs to sign off on the sinking, and one group is doing all they can to stop it.
Save Halkett Bay is a community group headed by Gary MacDonald that has been opposed to the sinking of the HMCS Annapolis in Halkett Bay since it was first pitched in 2009 as an artificial reef by the Artificial Reef Society of B.C. (ARSBC).
Save Halkett Bay cites severe damage to the seabed and concerns about contaminants onboard the decommissioned ship that could leak into the water as reasons to stop the sinking.
This week, Save Halkett Bay filed a petition in court to pressure the provincial government to withhold their approval for the plan.
“The petition that we filed is about two things. One is that the Parks Act says that in parks of a certain size you’re not allowed to destroy a significant amount of the natural resource, and this simply exceeds the amount of destruction. Sinking the ship onto the seabed is considered to be destruction,” MacDonald said.
“The other part of it is that the constitution for Halkett Bay Marine Park doesn’t actually allow for artificial reefs as a use for the park. It lists the things that you can do in the park, and creating an artificial reef isn’t one of them.”
Save Halkett Bay filed their petition in court on Monday and the province has yet to file their response.
“We believe that it’s time for the provincial government to basically step up and say that this is not an appropriate thing to do in a provincial marine park and tell the ARSBC that they can’t do it,” MacDonald said.
The ARSBC has said on its website that they anticipate sinking the HMCS Annapolis this fall, which is why MacDonald said action was taken by Save Halkett Bay this week.
