Derek Kilbourn
Sounder News
Peter Luckham, outgoing Chair of the Islands Trust Council, has written to federal ministers asking for an expansion of the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act (WAHVA) program in the Islands Trust Area.
His letter was addressed to Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard; as well as Anita Anand, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade.
Luckham writes that he is asking the Ministers to increase available funding through WAHVA to deal with hazardous vessels in the Islands Trust Area (southern Strait of Georgia and Howe Sound), and that the period to action vessels found to be in violation of WAHVA be reduced.
He cites the many wrecked, abandoned and hazardous vessels throughout the Islands Trust Area between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia.
“These vessels are located in harbours and bays of the islands in the Salish Sea, a rich and diverse ecosystem under increasing threat from population growth, increased shipping, and climate change.
“As we understand it, Part 2 of the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act sets out specific enforcement timelines for various contraventions, notifications, and prohibitions under the Act that range from 30 and 60 days and up to two years. We understand that these timelines must elapse before Transport Canada can determine that a vessel is in violation of the abandoned or dilapidated prohibition. In the sensitive ecosystems of the Islands Trust Area, Islands Trust Council views these timeframes to be too long as weather conditions and vessel conditions can change rapidly, risking the release of hazardous materials into the marine and foreshore environments.”
Susan Yates, Island Trustee for Gabriola, echoed this statement from Luckham saying, “the Trust Area is a known sensitive ecosystem region, with a mandate to protect the foreshores; and there is a disproportionate number of abandoned/wrecked/leaking/visually obnoxious ‘dead boats’ in the Trust Area.
“Timelines ranging up to 2 years is untenable; I believe the designated timelines increase the problem exponentially.”
Luckham goes on to say the Trust considers the number of wrecked, abandoned and hazardous vessels in the Islands Trust Area to be disproportionate to the rest of British Columbia and Canada.
“As such, we believe more funds are required to address this ever-increasing problem. We greatly appreciate the work already done by the Government of Canada to reduce the number of such vessels in our waters – more than 100 vessels removed since WAHVA came into force in 2019 – but find that much more needs to be done to curtail their environmental threat.”
The letter describes the Islands Trust as a special-purpose government representing over 30,000 people living within the Islands Trust Area and 10,000 non-resident property owners. Islands Trust is responsible for preserving and protecting the Islands Trust Area and its unique amenities and environment through conservation-oriented land use planning and regulation, education, and cooperation with First Nations and other agencies.
Luckham says the Trust will continue to exercise its own authorities to regulate uses on the water, “but we rely on support from other government agencies, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada to help us fulfil this special mandate for the benefit of all British Columbians. As such, we call on your Ministries to consider reducing the timelines for dealing with wrecked, abandoned and hazardous vessels and to provide more funding to address the problem.
“Thank you for your leadership on this longstanding issue and we look forward to continuing our work together with all partners who care about this urgent matter.”
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