Transport committee  In the Prime Minister's mandate letter to the transport minister, it actually says, “I expect you to seek opportunities within your portfolio to support our whole-of-government effort to reduce emissions, create clean jobs and address the climate-related challenges communities are already facing.”

Transport committee  The minister has the authority under the Canada Shipping Act to stop it right now. We've now gone through three transport ministers who have ignored us and our pleas for this to take place. Our concern in this bill is the words under proposed paragraph (f.2), “manage traffic, including mooring and anchorage”.

Transport committee  There's tremendous impact. In fact, those whales have become so important that, as I mentioned just a little bit earlier, an interim order has just come out restricting vessel traffic—any private vessel traffic or any traffic—in certain areas of the waters right around where I live near the Pender Islands and near Saturna Island, yet it still allows these large ships to go cruising past them at whatever speed they choose.

Transport committee  Yes. As I mentioned earlier, each vessel.... It's been calculated. The diesel generators on board emit some 10 tonnes of CO2 per ship per day. Multiply that by 5,900 anchoring days, and that's quite impressive. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the provincial government has recognized the area.

Transport committee  That's the problem. The waters are very narrow. Winter storms race up through these waters, and there is no ability for the port of Vancouver or anybody to have continuous monitoring of them. The Coast Guard has told me that, if it swings on an anchor drag outside of its swing radius, which has been mapped, some bells will go off and they will call the ship's agent.

Transport committee  There has been little to no consultation with any coastal residents or any of our coastal first nations with regard to that. All of us have replied in opposition to what is going on there with very little feedback from the current federal ministry of transport.

Transport committee  I'm sorry. Do you mean the...?

Transport committee  There are absolutely huge impacts. As I mentioned, you have the above-water noise of the generators. The ships are sitting quite high out of the water, and with the generators and noise carrying across water—if you have ever been on a lake, you can hear someone talking on the other side—that constant level has increased as high as, at some places in Ladysmith, 66 decibels.

Transport committee  If the ministerial authority gives the strength to the Minister of Transport to declare that area...and immediately start reducing and then eliminating the use of the anchorages there due to its environmental value and fragile ecosystems, that's what we would like to see. Once again, economics cannot buy back our environment.

Transport committee  Currently, as I expressed earlier, the concern is that, under the current amendment, the word “anchorage” opens the door to giving the port of Vancouver jurisdiction over the southern Gulf Islands and adjacent Vancouver Island waters. That's a huge concern for us. It's right at the bottom of the list for efficiency currently.

Transport committee  We search for the answer. To give you an example, in 2009—we have some great data, even though we're all volunteers—there were 262 total days at anchor for ships. When the interim protocols came out in 2018, there were 3,082 anchorage days. In 2022, that increased to 5,900, so the ships are arriving earlier.

Transport committee  It's not the case currently, and that's why we're hoping that the amendments come through. I worked in the aviation industry for 39 years, and I'm very familiar with efficient arrival systems and especially non-efficient arrival systems. I can't understand, in this day and age, how the port of Vancouver cannot communicate with vessels that are across the ocean and schedule them in properly like an airport would do.

Transport committee  Since I was a teenager, I've been going into the Gulf Islands. I bought property there in 1978 and have lived there permanently for 23 years. I know those waterways wonderfully, and they're precious. With extreme winds in the winter time, strong currents and those kinds of things, we rarely saw a cargo ship anchoring in those waters before 2009.

Transport committee  Our ultimate goal is the elimination of the anchorages because they are unnecessary and language to that effect to give the Minister of Transport the authority to declare the southern Gulf Islands waters and adjacent Vancouver Island waters a special sanctuary zone. The Minister of Transport under the Canada Shipping Act has that power already, and we would like to see it in the legislation that's coming forward to back that up.

Transport committee  Member, container ships don't anchor. They are scheduled wonderfully to be in the port, because it's a very economic penalty for them to be hovering on anchor. The main ships are coal and, if you can believe it, Canada is still allowing the export of thermal coal. A lot of it is being mined in the United States.