Brentwood Bay residents are concerned that boats kicked out of the Gorge Waterway by the City of Victoria are turning up in Brentwood Bay, and some blame Victoria for dumping the problem on its neighbours.
The concern is justified; the blame is misplaced. A hodgepodge of jurisdictions makes it difficult for municipalities to deal with derelict and liveaboard vessels in coastal waters. It鈥檚 a problem that should be dealt with, firmly and definitively, at the national level.
This issue is a perennial headache for municipal and regional governments on any coast. Here鈥檚 an explanation of the jurisdictional tangle, included in a staff report to the Capital Regional District board, which is looking for a consistent approach to the problem:
鈥淭he federal government, through Transport sa国际传媒, has authority over navigation (which includes anchorage and moorage) in all navigable waterways. The province has administration and control over provincial Crown land (including land covered by water) and can convey land uses to the public for community, industrial and business use through the granting of land and the issuance of Crown land tenure in the form of leases, licences, permits and rights-of-way.
鈥淎s such, most of the seabeds in the province, including the Gorge Waterway, are managed by Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource [Operations]. Two notable exceptions to this are Victoria Harbour and Esquimalt Harbour, where the seabed is under the administration of Transport sa国际传媒 and Department of National Defence, respectively. Municipal governments have the authority to enact zoning regulations over all lands within their jurisdictions, including land covered by water (i.e., water lots).
鈥淭he Canadian Coast Guard has sole jurisdiction over polluting vessels. Transport sa国际传媒 may authorize a willing third party to take possession of and remove abandoned or derelict vessels and wrecks; the costs for removal are often borne by the willing third party, but some costs may be recovered through the Receiver of Wrecks. Otherwise, the removal of vessels is not undertaken by any other agency.鈥�
Ways have been found around and through this maze. In 2014, abandoned and deteriorating boats, as well as other obstructions, were removed from Oak Bay by a partnership involving the Oak Bay police, the RCMP marine unit and Transport sa国际传媒 staff.
The City of Victoria, after obtaining a licence of occupation from the province, passed a bylaw declaring the Gorge Waterway a recreational zone and limiting overnight moorage.
But too often, the problem is not solved, but simply moved to a jurisdiction where restrictions are fewer or non-existent. It鈥檚 not just a sa国际传媒 problem 鈥� communities on sa国际传媒鈥檚 East Coast struggle with the same issue.
In 2015, West Vancouver Conservative MP John Weston tabled a private-member鈥檚 bill that would have imposed jail time and fines up to $100,000 for abandoning a vessel. Parliament rose before the bill could be voted on.
In February, Nanaimo-Ladysmith NDP MP Sheila Malcolmson tabled a private-member鈥檚 bill that would have compelled the federal government to create regulations for the removal, disposition or destruction of abandoned vessels or wrecks. It still sits at first reading.
In October, Parliament unanimously passed a private-member鈥檚 bill from a Nova Scotia Liberal MP that says the government should 鈥渢ake meaningful steps to address the issue of abandoned and derelict vessels within six months of this motion being adopted by the House.鈥�
The problem demands action, not vague words about meaningful steps. When an issue involves various levels of government, the solutions must begin at the most senior level. Municipalities and regional districts, even the province, are limited in what they can do.
Ottawa has the authority 鈥� and the obligation 鈥� to work with other governments to keep unseaworthy vessels from obstructing and polluting our waterways.
