Jurisdiction over coastal waters is a complicated issue; nevertheless, sa国际传媒 is a maritime nation and it鈥檚 absurd that after all these years, effective regulations aren鈥檛 in place to deal with derelict boats.
The City of Victoria has come under criticism for not taking advantage of an offer to remove derelict boats from the Selkirk Waterway.
Victoria, like many other coastal municipalities, has been trying for years to figure what to do about derelict boats and liveaboards in the waterway near the Selkirk Trestle. Some of the boats are leaking oil and fuel.
On Wednesday, former Victoria councillor Shellie Gudgeon released a letter written to the city in March 2014, in which Ralmax Properties president Ian Maxwell offered to remove the boats at no cost to the city. Gudgeon says she鈥檚 frustrated by 鈥渨affling about both the cost and the process regarding this issue.鈥�
But Mayor Lisa Helps says the city is doing its due diligence. 鈥淚f it looks complicated and slow, that鈥檚 because it is,鈥� she said.
She鈥檚 right. It is indeed complicated. The city is stymied by a tangle of regulations and jurisdictions concerning coastal shores and waters. The province owns the foreshore 鈥� the area between the low-tide and high-tide marks, and the federal government is generally regarded as owning the seabed under the ocean for 12 nautical miles out from the outside shore.
But a Supreme Court of sa国际传媒 decision in 1984 held that, for historical reasons, the province owns the beds of the 鈥渋nland seas,鈥� such as the Strait of Georgia and the Juan de Fuca Strait. That gives the province jurisdiction over such activities as the use of beaches, sailing in a passage, anchoring in a bay or construction of a dock.
A wide array of federal regulations is involved, including the Oceans Act, the Fisheries Act, the Marine Act, the Shipping Act and the National Marine Conservation Areas Act. Add to all that the centuries-old maritime tradition, entrenched in law, of the freedom to anchor almost anywhere, and it quickly becomes apparent that a municipality has few options when it comes to dealing with waterway problems.
Victoria has adopted a bylaw rezoning the waterway for recreational use only, and received a licence of occupation from the province so it can enforce the bylaw. But the city has been proceeding carefully to avoid lawsuits and to conform to the various regulations involved.
So it鈥檚 not quite as simple as 鈥渓et it be written, let it be done.鈥�
Victoria is making an effort, but it鈥檚 working too much on its own. sa国际传媒鈥檚 coast, with all those inlets, bays and 40,000 islands, has a total length of nearly 26,000 kilometres. Piecemeal solutions won鈥檛 do.
A permanent body comprising municipal, provincial and federal representatives should be formed to deal with derelict boats, illegal moorings and other issues in multi-jurisdictional waters.
Instead of an issue being bounced from one agency or government to another, it should be handled by a body that represents all of them, one that has the authority and resources to help ensure the safety and quality of coastal waters.
