Bill C-64 (Historical)

Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act

An Act respecting wrecks, abandoned, dilapidated or hazardous vessels and salvage operations

This enactment enacts the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, which promotes the protection of the public, of the environment, including coastlines and shorelines, and of infrastructure by regulating abandoned or hazardous vessels and wrecks in Canadian waters and, in certain cases, Canada’s exclusive economic zone, and by recognizing the responsibility and liability of owners for their vessels.
The Act, among other things,
(a) implements the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007;
(b) requires owners of vessels of 300 gross tonnage and above, and unregistered vessels being towed, to maintain wreck removal insurance or other financial security;
(c) prohibits vessel abandonment unless it is authorized under an Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province or it is due to a maritime emergency;
(d) prohibits the leaving of a dilapidated vessel in the same place for more than 60 days without authorization;
(e) authorizes the Minister of Transport or the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to order the removal of a dilapidated vessel left on any federal property;
(f) authorizes the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to take measures to prevent, mitigate or eliminate hazards posed by vessels or wrecks and to hold the owner liable;
(g) authorizes the Minister of Transport to take measures with respect to abandoned or dilapidated vessels and to hold the owner liable;
(h) establishes an administration and enforcement scheme, including administrative monetary penalties; and
(i) authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting such matters as excluding certain vessels from the application of the Act, setting fees and establishing requirements for salvage operations, the towing of vessels and the dismantlement or destruction of vessels.
The enactment also re-enacts and revises provisions related to the International Convention on Salvage, 1989 and to the receiver of wreck. The enactment strengthens the protection of owners of certain wrecks in cases where the owner is unknown or cannot be located and maintains regulatory powers related to the protection and preservation of wrecks having heritage value.
Finally, it makes related and consequential amendments to other Acts.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I'd like to welcome all of our witnesses here. Thank you so much for joining us.

It is interesting to note that this is not the first bill tabled in the House and then referred to this committee on which first nations witnesses have indicated that they have not been consulted.

I guess I would pose my first question to you, Mr. Ken Paul, and I only say Ken Paul because we have Chief Paul sitting at the table as well.

In other bills, there are provisions that require that when making a decision under an act, the minister must consider “any adverse effects that the decision may have on the rights of the Indigenous peoples of Canada”. Can you tell me if you are aware of any such provision in Bill C-64? If not, what might be your recommendation with regard to this bill, and what might be any amendments that need to be made to this bill in order to satisfy some of the concerns that you raised in your testimony?

[Anna Johnston, Staff Counsel, West Coast Environmental Law Association]

Thank you very much, and thank you for this invitation to appear before you on unceded Algonquin territory.

My name is Anna Johnston. I'm a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law.

West Coast has been a non-profit for 40 years now, helping British Columbians protect their environment through law. We work with coastal communities, local governments, and first nations to strengthen environmental laws protecting their lands and waters, and I am truly honoured to be before you today.

I'd like to commend this government for taking action on the issue of wrecked, abandoned, dilapidated vessels, and for all of you, it's really been great to see the parties come together to move this bill forward and strengthen it together.

Abandoned vessels cause significant environmental, safety, economic, and aesthetic concern to coastal communities in British Columbia. I believe the same 2014 inventory that my friend here just referred to identified 245 vessels of concern in British Columbia, and those are only the ones that were reported by local governments. Of these, 165 were pleasure craft or sailboats, so the majority of the problem that is faced in British Columbia is not from large commercial vessels. They tend to be smaller pleasure craft spilling fuel and decaying in local harbours and waters.

Bill C-64 is a good start toward helping with this issue. I have a few suggestions that, if implemented, I believe will help strengthen the bill and allow it to fulfill the government's goal of more effectively dealing with derelict, abandoned, and wrecked vessels.

My first suggestion is to better ensure that the goal of dealing with these vessels is met by strengthening the discretionary nature of the act and actually requiring ministers and receivers of wreck to take action.

The second recommendation I have is related to the first. To the degree that discretion remains under the act, in my experience, when the government doesn't take action on an issue, the public wants to see why. Therefore, I would recommend that there be an amendment to explicitly enable the public to request ministers or receivers of wreck to deal with, or authorize them to deal with, abandoned, derelict, and wrecked vessels, and to combine that ability to request with a mandatory response that is made publicly available within a prescribed period of time.

My third recommendation is to better enable the tracking down of vessel owners, as has been mentioned here before, by requiring registration of pleasure craft.

Do I have a couple of minutes? Can I elaborate on those points?

[Peter Luckham, Chair, Islands Trust Council, Islands Trust]

Thank you, Madam Chair and committee members, for the important work you are doing for Canada.

I would like to acknowledge our meeting on Algonquin Anishinabe territory, and also recognize the Coast Salish territory where I live and which I am mandated by the Province of British Columbia to preserve and protect.

I represent the 26 elected trustees of the Islands Trust, who represent 35,000 residents and property owners of British Columbia's Gulf Islands. The Islands Trust is a federation of 13 special-purpose local government bodies, established in 1974 by the Province of British Columbia through the Islands Trust Act.

Through the act, we are mandated to preserve and protect the trust area and its unique amenities and environment, in co-operation with others, for all British Columbians.

The Gulf Islands are an ecologically rich and internationally renowned tourism destination. As a professional scuba diver and a mariner, I have seen many a sunken or scuttled boat, as well as numerous derelict or abandoned vessels along our shores.

I would like to acknowledge member of Parliament Sheila Malcolmson for her years of tireless work on this issue, and would like to thank this government for creating Bill C-64.

Three and a half million people live in the area surrounding the Islands Trust. There are hundreds of thousands of pleasure craft in the region. Many of them are lovingly maintained older vessels, but others are beyond hope.

A 2014 Transport Canada study identified our region as a hot spot in Canada for abandoned vessels. We are very concerned about small fibreglass and concrete boats that are reaching the end of their service life.

What is the underlying cause for abandoned and derelict vessels? I would suggest the lure of the sea. This powerful attraction for adventure and exploration draws the bold and the foolhardy. All too often, many of those drawn to the siren's song seem to not have the awareness, the skills, the experience, and the resources to properly care for an old boat. A lack of clear regulation does not help.

It is a regular occurrence in the bays and harbours of our islands to witness a known at-risk vessel sink at its moorings after the winter storms, leaking fuel and oil and taking batteries, garbage, paint, and other toxins to the nurseries of our sensitive marine environment.

One of the 450 islands within the Islands Trust federation, the municipality of Bowen Island, has dedicated 400 hours of staff time and more than $75,000 since 2014 to removing more than four tonnes of debris related to boats, wrecks, and mooring buoys. This is a significant and unsustainable cost to a small local government.

These vessels have little or no value and are readily transferred to those drawn to the sea. Circumstances force these vessels to go to a mooring or to set anchor. Ultimately, they are abandoned or blown onto a beach in a storm, or worse, scuttled in the dead of night.

The lack of vessel registration and mooring buoy management promotes abandonment. We need to put an end to this lack of accountability of irresponsible boat owners.

The Islands Trust has been advocating for long-term solutions to abandoned vessels since 2010. We and others have suggested the following strategies: create a funding mechanism, such as a fee on vessel registration; enhance licensing and registration for all vessels and validate the existing data; create a vessel turn-in program; establish public education programs and vessel product stewardship programs; and confirm the responsibilities of the agencies having authority over derelict and abandoned vessels.

I ask you to strengthen Bill C-64 with actions that focus on preventing abandonment. For example, establish a program of review and approval under the Navigable Waters Protection Act for private mooring buoy registration, and actively conduct enforcement; perform regular mooring buoy sweeps with other agencies; inventory and monitor vessels at risk; provide opportunities for appropriate disposal of old boats; and establish a permanent program beyond the 2017-2022 funding.

We appreciate the intent of the work behind Bill C-64. This is a big step in the right direction and responds to many of our concerns. We're glad to see that charges have been laid recently in British Columbia against offenders who deliberately scuttled their vessels. Successfully getting the message out that the government is serious about penalizing offenders and helping those who ask for help will, I believe, reduce the occurrence of abandonment.

Transport Canada's plans for improving pleasure boat registration and developing an ongoing revenue stream for removals is crucial to long-term success in preventing abandonment, just as the Washington State derelict vessel removal program has greatly assisted San Juan County in managing abandoned boats.

Thank you for your leadership on this issue, and thank you for inviting me here today.

[Ken Paul, Director, Fisheries and Integrated Resources, Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat]

First, I'd like to acknowledge that we are on Algonquin traditional lands, and that we want to respect their sovereignty.

I also want to mention that I'm replacing Chief Bob Gloade, who had a medical emergency yesterday. He was supposed to appear on our behalf as one of our co-chairs, and I hope that we can send prayers for a speedy recovery to him and his family.

Chief Terry mentioned our treaties. I would like to read an excerpt from the treaty of 1752, the Peace and Friendship Treaty, between His Majesty the King and Jean Baptiste Cope. Article 7 specifically says:

That the Indians shall use their best Endeavours to save the lives and goods of any People Shipwrecked on this Coast, where they resort, and shall Conduct the People saved to Halifax with their Goods, & a Reward adequate to the Salvadge shall be given them.

This actual treaty and this passage itself can be found on the Indigenous and Northern Affairs website.

We understand that with Bill C-64, an act respecting wrecks, abandoned, dilapidated or hazardous vessels and salvage operations, the Government of Canada seeks to strengthen liabilities of owners, prohibit abandonment, enhance federal powers to undertake assessments, introduce compliance and enforcement regimes, and clarify the roles of Transport Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Coast Guard.

The Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities must consider the points that follow.

The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet are signatories of the treaties of peace and friendship with the crown. The treaties are pre-Confederation nation-to-nation agreements, and Canada has officially recognized the treaties of 1752 and 1760-1761 through court cases.

The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet have never ceded any territorial lands or waters to the crown or Canada. As original inhabitants of territory spanning Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Newfoundland, and Quebec, Mi'kmaq and Maliseet enjoy aboriginal treaty rights that originate from our inherent rights.

According to Canadian law, the crown has the fiduciary duty to consult with first nations chiefs on any legislation that may impact aboriginal and treaty rights, and this includes Bill C-64.

The treaty of 1752 identifies and acknowledges a critical role of Mi'kmaq people in rescue and salvage operations of shipwrecks on the Atlantic coast.

Bill C-64 proposes new authorities to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard with respect to wrecks and abandoned vessels for salvage and environmental damage. This includes fees and penalties. These authorities and the roles of first nations must be discussed in full consultation with Mi'kmaq and Maliseet.

Bill C-64 proposes new registries for vessel owners, along with associated fees. Any new regulations, policies, administration, or costs must be discussed in full consultation with Mi'kmaq and Maliseet.

Economic opportunities to perform vessel deconstruction, recovery, salvage, and transport must give special consideration and preference to Mi'kmaq and Maliseet enterprises.

Environmental and economic impacts of shipwrecks and abandoned vessels in unceded traditional territories must also take into consideration the social and cultural impacts to Mi'kmaq and Maliseet people. This must include, but not be limited to, indigenous traditional knowledge, which has been expressed in Canada's proposed Bill C-69, the impact assessment act.

Thank you for your consideration.

[Chief Terrance Paul]

Thank you for inviting me to take part in today's discussion. I am pleased to be here on behalf of both the Atlantic Policy Congress and my community of Membertou to speak to Bill C-64.

As the original caretakers of our lands and waters, we, the Mi'kmaq, know that we have both rights and expertise to share that take into account the appropriate methods and the impacts that decommissioning and removal have on our environment.

For your information, according to our treaties, the Mi'kmaq have first rights to salvage operations. However, over time that has not been the process that has taken place in many cases.

This is why meeting with you today is so important for us and the Mi'kmaq population of more than 22,000 people across Nova Scotia and the indigenous people across Canada. We recognize the great opportunity in economic development for first nations regarding the decommissioned, abandoned, and hazardous vessels in our waters. Because the Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq have extensive experience and history in the fisheries, we see working with you, our government, as an open and ongoing dialogue about the advancement of Bill C-64 and an opportunity to learn how we can be instrumental in gaining this opportunity.

The economic and employment opportunities that it would and could provide for us would be incredibly beneficial.

I would recommend a serious consideration of the tendering process itself. While I am not suggesting that we would always have the capacity to take on these large-scale projects all on our own, I do ask that you put forth requirements for indigenous participation and partnerships. Here in Cape Breton, for example, the Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq and Membertou have land on the Sydney waterfront. Recently we've seen organizations come in under massive contracts to facilitate these operations, and we haven't even been consulted, let alone been a part of the project. This cannot continue.

I ask today that you take away from our conversations the consideration of creating an inclusive procurement process and of ensuring that indigenous people are involved in the tendering process through Bill C-64. We recognize the importance of this bill, which will further provide guidance and protection for the future.

We want to make recommendations to you to move this bill forward. We would welcome the opportunity to be a part of your further discussions, but also to play a pivotal role in helping to achieve the goals of the bill in a safe and efficient manner, all while being included from the beginning.

Our people have long since used these waters for survival and to make a living for our families. I encourage you to consider having us at the table for further discussions, and when the time comes to properly take care of these operations, I hope you will consider having indigenous people working to protect our waters as we've done since time immemorial.

Thank you.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

I'm going to ask you another question about another element of your program. You also have penalties in place for the failure to register a vessel, and we're very concerned that this program in Bill C-64 might fail if we can't actually send fines and penalties to the actual boat because the vessel registration system has kind of fallen into disrepair. That was also part of my legislation. Can you tell us a little bit more about the benefits of having fines for failing to register?

[John Weston]

Well, this could be a little bit controversial for some people.

Obviously, boat owners may not want to pay a fee, but the whole underlying principle of Bill C-64 is accountability. That's what has gotten the bill this far, I believe. Part of accountability would be dealing with the problem before it ever becomes one. Those who own vessels are more likely to be in the position of abandoning a vessel than those who don't own vessels. It makes sense that part of the purse from which the cost would be drawn to deal with these problems would be the vessel owners themselves. Perhaps that would be on a going-forward basis. That isn't in the bill, and that's something I would recommend to improve it.

[John Weston, Lawyer, Pan Pacific Law Corporation]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Since there's some reference to private members' bills in our discussion today, I would be remiss if I did not draw members' attention to Bill S-211, which was passed in 2014, thus creating National Health and Fitness Day, which unleashed, among other things, ski day on the Hill, which will be held this Wednesday. At noon on that day, Nancy Greene Raine will be there, as will the Governor General. You're all invited, no matter what your level of skiing ability is.

When I first came to Parliament as a member in 2008, I thought law-making was about passing bills. I've learned through processes like today's that law-making is so much more than that. Thank you for honouring me with your invitation to testify. For four reasons, it means much, as today's protests reflect important values and positive aspects of our democracy that often get overlooked. I'm going to cover those reasons and then touch on one or two of the refinements that could make Bill C-64 move from good to great.

First, the law you're reviewing is not only the brainchild of legislators or bureaucrats; it's also the results of earnest pleas by people of this great country, people who saw their treasured oceans desecrated by the litter of irresponsible boat owners who could abandon their boats with impunity.

Second, it reflects the influence of individual legislators in our system. With the author of the reform act on your committee—Michael Chong—you may be more mindful than other committees of the importance of the role of individual legislators. Though Bill C-64 is a government bill, it stands on the shoulders of private members' bills the House considered and passed, such as that of Ms. Malcolmson. As detailed more thoroughly in my written submission, which you should have received, two NDP members, including Ms. Malcolmson, engaged the House with their bills, as did I with my Bill C-695.

Third, the bill you consider today reflects an amalgam of cross-party views, not just those of the party in power. At a time when Canadians bemoan hyperpartisanship in Canada and the U.S., you should take pride in promoting the open-mindedness demonstrated here.

Fourth, and most important, the bill promotes responsibility. It's a key value often lost in the cut and thrust of policy-making. We speak often about freedom. I'm no exception. I spoke in these hallowed halls frequently about freedom of speech and freedom of conscience and I joined the legal profession motivated by my interest in constitutional freedoms, but as Auschwitz survivor Viktor Frankl said, freedom without responsibility is dangerous.

The book I published last year touches on stories with which many of you are familiar. Above all, it's a focus on values, including responsibility. The book exhorts political and non-political leaders to be “on”. In fact, On! is the book's title. To be really on, we must cultivate our sense of responsibility.

The core of this bill is an emphasis on accountability. As far as I know, my bill was the first-ever legislative instrument that contemplated the imposition of jail time and fines for people who abandoned vessels. Bill C-64 expands upon that principle and increases the consequences. Thank you, Liberal Party friends, for seizing on such an important part of Conservative philosophy: personal accountability.

By now you know that I support Bill C-64. It's a happy moment when a person associated with one party supports a bill proposed by another. At the risk of tarnishing this happy moment, I have to point out that it took the Liberals 52 pages of text to accomplish what I sought to achieve with one page, a decline in efficiency of some 5,000%. I'm just saying.

Beyond my general support for the bill, I do have 16 recommendations that might improve it, which are listed on pages 5 through 7 of the written submission that you received. There are three general ones and 13 others that arose in my section-by-section review of the bill.

A couple of the key ones are that, first, it would be much easier to identify boat ownership if Canada consolidates and improves our boat registry databases and, second, that abandoned vessels are more a Transport than a Fisheries issue, and the Coast Guard is more a Transport arm of government than an aspect of Fisheries.

The Canadian Coast Guard ought to reside within the Transport Canada ministry where it used to be, not with Fisheries and Oceans. If you're unsure about this, just consider which committee is reviewing Bill C-64 as we speak today: it's your committee, Transport, not Fisheries. While a reorganization to achieve a more streamlined Coast Guard lies beyond the ambit of Bill C-64, I do recommend that such a change be considered.

I see that my time is almost up, but if this committee desires, I can, in under two minutes, later run through 14 more recommendations to help move Bill C-64 from good to great.

I believe that positive values have motivated those who have contributed to this bill, not partisan self-promotion. It is not in self-promotion but because I really believe what I say that I will close with a quote from my own book: “For the good of society, let's pray for leaders who model these values, for people who pursue the community's interest over their own, who seek leadership for the good of the people they serve.”

In supporting this bill, you're doing just that. Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kelly Block]

Good afternoon, everyone.

I will call the meeting to order as the vice-chair on behalf of the chair. I know that she is going to be here momentarily.

I'm calling to order meeting number 90, pursuant to the order of reference of Tuesday, December 5, 2017.

We are studying Bill C-64, an act respecting wrecks, abandoned, dilapidated or hazardous vessels and salvage operations.

We have a number of witnesses with us for this first hour of our meeting.

We have, from the Pan Pacific Law Corporation, John Weston.

Representing Sunshine Coast Regional District Board is Frank Mauro, who is director of Area A, Pender Harbour and Egmont. That is by video conference. We also have Ian Winn, director of Area F, West Howe Sound, also by video conference.

Joining us representing Washington State Department of Natural Resources, we have Kyle C. Murphy, assistant division manager of the aquatic resources division, by video conference. We also have Troy Wood, manager of the derelict vessel removal program, by video conference as well.

We will start this portion of the meeting with Mr. Weston.

Thank you, Mr. Weston.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

You have some really good reporting in there about the times that you as a fund were not able to recover the money, because 25% of the boat owners were unfound, unknown, or did not respond; 51% lacked financial assets, and 2% were out of the country or had fled or were away.

Those numbers—because you're one of the single agencies that have really documented this—make me concerned that the main mechanism of Bill C-64, which is to levy fines and penalties, may in fact not achieve its final goal in this case since either the owners do not have the means to pay or they cannot be found at all.

Do you share my concern?

[Andrew Kendrick, Vice-President, Operations, Vard Marine Inc.]

Madam Chair, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for the invitation to appear before this committee.

As noted, I'm Vice-President, Operations, for Vard Marine's Ottawa office. Vard is a Canadian company that designs ships. We also undertake a range of consulting activities to do with marine issues for private and public sector clients. Our clients range from oil majors to environmental NGOs. We take that as an endorsement of our ability to provide objective advice to whoever our client may be.

On a personal level, I'm myself a keen boater, particularly for sail and human-powered craft; and I am a lake steward for a small lake outside Ottawa. I have a keen, personal interest in all issues associated with water quality and water safety. I will try to maintain a difference between my corporate and my personal opinions.

In 2015, Vard undertook a project on behalf of Transport Canada, which was referenced, I noted, by the previous witnesses. We were supposed to be analyzing ship breaking and recycling capacity in Canada, but it actually became a much broader project, looking at advice on vessels of concern. What causes them? What are the potential means of dealing with them? This brought home to us the general legislative uncertainty surrounding the disposal of wrecked and abandoned vessels of various sizes, and best and worst practices in Canada and around the world for handling this.

Canada certainly needs a better framework to handle this problem. We consider that Bill C-64 is a valuable part of this. We do have some concerns with the bill because it's trying to address a very broad range of issues in a single package. While you may be able to gloss over this in the act itself, it will make it difficult, in our opinion, to formulate effective regulations for all the types of vessels that are under consideration. We're already seeing some signs of this in a recent DFO/PSPC request for information, which I'll talk a little more about in a minute.

The summary of the act refers explicitly to the Nairobi Convention and to requirements that will be imposed on vessels of 300 gross tonnes and above, but the general coverage of the act is to all Canadian vessels that are registered, listed, recorded, or licensed under the Canada Shipping Act.

There are only 1,500 Canadian vessels that are over the 300-gross-tonne limit. A thousand of those are barges and 200 are owned by the federal government, provincial governments, and crown corporations. On the other hand, there are roughly 40,000 vessels that are registered and several million that are either licensed or are supposed to be licensed. We followed in our work the NMMA study from 2012, which put the number of recreational vessels in Canada as 4.3 million.

Licensing applies to all vessels with more than 7.5 kilowatts, 10 horsepower, of engine power. That's a fairly low threshold. Bill C-64 lowers this still more by applying to all vessels other than unpowered vessels below 5.5 metres in length. Finally, I've been caught, because my 14-foot sailboat actually has an electric trolling motor. I'm not sure what the interpretation of the act will be in a condition like this.

As the coverage expands, the quality of the databases available for monitoring and enforcement drops rapidly. There are three different databases for Canadian-registered vessels, and they are by no means current or accurate. We're doing a study of that at the moment on another project for Transport Canada, and the registry is full of errors. We don't have access to the record for licensed vessels, but our experience suggests that the records are incomplete and highly inaccurate, and the process of licensing is poorly understood even by some of the more reputable boaters. Licences have to be renewed every 10 years, but most recreational boaters are not aware of that. We strongly suspect the licensing database is sadly out of date and would be of very little use in tracking down owners in many cases.

Enforcement of the requirements is very inconsistent. I'm not aware of any fines having been levied recently on people who didn't have a licence but were supposed to.

Applying the act to large vessels should be relatively simple and uncontroversial, except in the case of orphaned vessels. There, hard cases make bad law. But generally the large vessels are few in number, highly visible, and relatively well documented.

For smaller craft, there's certainly the potential to create a new, costly, and intrusive bureaucracy and considerable potential for mischievous or malicious application.

It appears to us to be possible to designate many vessels as abandoned, dilapidated, or derelict at quite a low threshold of proof, and if intrusive neighbours consider a boat to be an eyesore, they can initiate a process for removal that may be difficult or costly to stop.

This Friday, I'm going to an information session on the DFO initiative to create a risk assessment methodology and inventory management system for vessels of concern. This appears to envisage a very complex, multi-phased system that will deal with many abandoned and derelict vessels actually very slowly and with a maximum amount of paperwork. We're all in favour of the government creating lots of opportunities for consultants, but we are also taxpayers and boat owners. We trust regulation standards and internal processes developed to support the act will focus on actual problems and not create new ones.

I'd be happy to answer any questions either on our report or on any of our statements.

Thank you.

[Anne Legars, Administrator, Office of the Administrator of the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund]

Madam Chair, ladies and gentlemen of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today as part of your study of Bill C-64.

Let me start by saying a few words about the compensation fund. It was created in 1989 under the Marine Liability Act. It is a special account in the accounts of Canada and into which monthly interest is paid by the Minister of Finance. Today, its capital stands at more than $400 million.

The fund is therefore fully capitalized, but the money must be used strictly for the purposes for which it was constituted. Those purposes are to provide compensation for damages caused by ship-source oil pollution, as well as to pay Canada's annual contribution to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds. So the administrator of the fund is the only person able to authorize payments from the fund. The administrator is appointed by the Governor in Council and is totally independent. Only the Federal Court can review his or her decisions.

The notion of “polluter pays“ is the program's key principle. This is the context in which the compensation fund provides claimants with access to an additional form of justice by avoiding the need for them to go before the courts, and by providing them with compensation of up to $172 million per accident. After that, the fund sues the polluter.

What is our experience with vessels and wrecks of concern? First, I have to underline that the fund seldom has to pay for oil pollution damages caused by vessels of over 1,000 tonnes. These incidents will normally be indemnified directly by the ship's insurer, as insurance is compulsory for such ships.

The vast majority of the fund's claims portfolio is linked to incidents involving vessels and wrecks of concern. These incidents represent two-thirds of the claims received by the fund and 80% of the final settlement cost paid by the fund over the past decade. This was actually documented in this report, which is on our website. We can leave a sample with the committee as well.

Only 2.2% of the amount settled with claimants over the period of the incidents involving these ships was recovered from the responsible party. The pollution costs of these vessels are escalating. These vessels are essentially vessels under 300 tonnes, such as fishing vessels or ex-fishing vessels, tugs, barges, and pleasure crafts.

Many claims we receive are linked to wreck removal. When the wreck removal operation is triggered by an oil spill incident or imminent risk of spill, we may pay the reasonable costs of preventing oil pollution damages or cleaning up oil pollution damages that are incidental to wreck removal operations. We will not pay for the actual removal or dismantling of the wreck unless the ship itself has become an oily waste, typically an old wooden vessel that has become impregnated with oil, becoming a kind of oil sponge.

What are the potential impacts of Bill C-64 on the fund's claims portfolio? When in force, Bill C-64 should help limit the number of claims brought to the fund, especially with respect to oil damages caused by wreck removals. The benefits should be felt for ships between 300 and 1,000 tonnes, for which the costs of dealing with the oil pollution risk incidental to a wreck removal operation will be borne by the wreck removal insurance. As mentioned, ships over 1,000 tonnes must already be covered by insurance for bunker fuel pollution.

However, in and by itself, Bill C-64 will likely have a marginal impact on our claims portfolio for the following reasons. First, the act will apply only to future occurrences and not to the existing inventory. Second, most of the ships that cause claims to the fund are below 300 tonnes, with no mandatory insurance. Third, many claims are caused by ships that are abandoned or dilapidated vessels, not “wrecks” within the meaning of the convention. Fourth, small vessels and pleasure crafts are the least regulated segments of the Canadian fleet. They are an important and uninsured source of vessels of concern and of oil pollution, and they are an important source of claims with the fund. Fifth, the polluter pays principle is difficult to uphold in circumstances where the owner cannot be identified.

Pending the implementation of other initiatives complementary to Bill C-64—and we know that a number of such initiatives are in the process of being developed or implemented—the fund expects to keep receiving a steady flow of claims linked to ships and wrecks of concern.

Ladies and gentlemen of the committee, I will be pleased to answer your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I will bring the meeting back to order. Could everybody please take their seat? If you need to have some conversations, please take them outside the room so the committee can commence its work.

Hello, Ms. May. It's nice to see you.

Our meeting is back to order. This is the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. We're doing a study, as you know, of Bill C-64, an act respecting wrecks, abandoned, dilapidated or hazardous vessels and salvage operations.

Thank you to our panel that's here. We have from the District of Squamish, Patricia Heintzman, who is the Mayor. From the Office of the Administrator of the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund, we have Anne Legars, the Administrator. From Vard Marine Incorporated, we have Andrew Kendrick, Vice-President of Operations.

We also have joining us at the table today our colleague Pam Goldsmith-Jones. Elizabeth May has also joined us today.

Welcome, everyone. I'm going to open it up.

Madam Mayor, would you like to go first?

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair,

We recognize that it is important for all sections of the Canadian Armed Forces to be correctly recognized everywhere in Canada.

Nevertheless, I believe that protecting Canada's ocean military graves needs enhanced collaboration among several departments.

My question goes to Mr. Rouleau.

Bill C-64 excludes wrecks considered as having heritage value under an act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province. How many military wrecks meet those conditions today?

[Patrick White]

Madam Chair, members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to contribute to the committee's study on Bill C-64, the wrecked, abandoned and hazardous vessels act, with a specific focus on the need to provide protection for Canada's ocean war graves.

Before I begin my remarks, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the incredible work of retired merchant navy Captain Paul Bender, who has led the charge to bring protection to Canada's ocean war graves. Captain Bender's efforts on this issue come after a remarkable lifetime of service to Canada, which includes his service during the Second World War, post-war service in the Royal Canadian Navy, and now at the age of 90, fighting to ensure the final resting places of Canada's sailors and merchant mariners are given the protection they unquestionably require. It is truly an honour to add our support to Captain Bender's work.

My name is Patrick White. I am the Founder and Executive Director of Project Naval Distinction.

Project Naval Distinction is an independent citizen initiative working to ensure all branches of the Canadian Armed Forces are given proper recognition across Canada. As the Royal Canadian Navy faces a natural challenge in connecting with Canadians beyond Canada's coastal communities, known as maritime blindness, our work has focused on ensuring the sailors of the Royal Canadian Navy are given recognition alongside the soldiers and aviators of the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force.

We were made aware of Captain Bender's efforts to provide protection for Canada's ocean war graves from a Twitter exchange between Ian Holloway, dean of the University of Calgary's faculty of law and the minister responsible for Parks Canada. On January 1, in response to Dean Holloway's tweet about Joseph Brean's National Post article about ocean war graves, Minister McKenna confirmed she was looking into it. We contributed our suggestion for amending Bill C-64, an ideal vehicle through which to enact legislative protection for Canada's ocean war graves.

In the same National Post article, Captain Bender outlines numerous important reasons why Canada's ocean war graves need to be given protection immediately. On a fundamental level, we are drawn to his final comment that protection of Canada's ocean war graves is more than just symbolic recognition, it would “put the loss of sailors on the same plane as the loss of soldiers and airmen.”

There are clear and concrete reasons why this issue must be addressed with a sincere sense of urgency. As Captain Bender notes, he has, “the latitude and longitude position of every one of the Royal Canadian Navy ships that were lost during the Second World War". This information is readily available to salvagers and treasure hunters. The question is not whether these graves might be disturbed. The question, if we do not act, is when. In November, blood-stained canvas hammocks, used by Canadian soldiers on the ocean liner RMS Hesperian were found off the coast of Ireland indicating the ocean war grave had recently been disturbed. The same grave-robbing could be happening right now to other Canadian ocean war graves as we sit in this meeting.

In light of this information, I ask the committee to amend Bill C-64 to provide protection for all Canadian ocean war graves in Canadian waters under section 163(2) of the Canada Shipping Act, and ensure the punishments for those who commit an offence are in line with those of grave-robbing.

Further, and in their roles as individual Members of Parliament, I ask committee members to, first, request that the Minister of Transport, the minister responsible for Parks Canada, and the Minister of National Defence provide immediate protection to all of Canada's ocean war graves under the existing powers of the Canada Shipping Act. Second, I ask committee members to request that the Minister of Foreign Affairs ask the government of the United Kingdom to add Canadian ocean war graves to the list of protected places and controlled sites under the U.K. Protection of Military Remains Act, 1986, and third, given the urgency with which protection for ocean war graves is needed, request the Speaker of the House of Commons to hold an emergency debate on protection for Canada's ocean war graves.

The men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives for Canada deserve to remain undisturbed in their places of final rest. Whether on the battlefields or in the cemeteries of Europe, or in HMC ships at the bottom of the ocean, Canada's soldiers, aviators, and sailors deserve the same protection that any Canadian would expect for themselves and their families.

Thank you. I look forward to answering any questions.