Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the environment and sustainable development committee. It's a real pleasure to be with you today to discuss my private member's bill, Bill C-244, the clean coasts act.
I see some familiar faces, including from the fisheries and oceans committee. I see Mr. Arnold.
These issues we're going to be talking about today are issues felt by many coastal communities, including my own in the riding of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, where we know the marine environment is inseparable from our communities, our local economies and our way of life.
Over the years, I've heard consistently from local governments, first nations, harbour authorities, commercial operators, search and rescue personnel, the Coast Guard and, particularly, residents about the growing challenges posed by abandoned vessels and marine pollution. The clean coasts act would respond to this by addressing two specific gaps in federal legislation that coastal communities continue to encounter in dealing with these long-standing frustrations.
The first relates to abandoned vessels. In 2019, Parliament adopted the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act. In so doing, it established new protections, making it illegal, for the first time, to abandon a vessel. Crazily, you could actually abandon a vessel before that without committing an offence.
Experience has shown that since then, vessel owners have found ways to avoid their responsibilities under the act. Rather than properly disposing of vessels at the end of their useful life, I've encountered countless examples of unscrupulous boat owners transferring them, usually for nominal amounts, to individuals who lack the means, capacity or intent to operate, maintain or dispose of them responsibly. These are oftentimes vulnerable individuals who are simply looking for a roof over their heads.
In many cases, these vessels continue to deteriorate, creating risks to human safety, navigation and the marine environment. I've seen examples of loss of life, even in my own riding, when these vessels sink. There are many cases of communities and taxpayers bearing the cost of cleaning up toxic waste and other pollutants that come out of these vessels when they sink. At major expense, the taxpayer then pays to clean those vessels up off the bottom of the ocean.
The clean coasts act seeks to close this loophole by strengthening accountability at the point of transfer. It would prohibit vessel owners from transferring ownership when they know or are reckless as to whether the recipient lacks the ability, resources or intent to prevent the vessel from becoming wrecked, abandoned or hazardous. One way of doing this is by creating a system whereby the boat seller will disclose the condition of the boat before selling it, and the boat purchaser will disclose how they intend to maintain and operate it. This would build on the existing system we have for vessel registration. This proposal complements the recent improvements that were made to that very system by Transport Canada and the pleasure craft licence system to strengthen ownership records and vessel traceability. Together, these measures will help improve accountability throughout the life cycle of the vessel.
The second issue in the bill relates to marine pollution. At its core, it's guided by the principle that Canada's marine environment should not become a dumping ground, and coastal communities should not be bearing the costs of pollution caused by others. We see the impacts of deteriorating marine infrastructure when it breaks apart and enters marine ecosystems. We see them when aging docks and other structures release debris into our waterways. Most visibly, we see them when oil and other pollutants are released into the marine environment.
A well-known example occurred in English Bay in 2015, when a bunker oil fuel spill caused significant environmental and economic damage. Despite the consequences, establishing the liability proved very challenging, because the existing provisions focus heavily on proving intent. The court found that there was a mens rea requirement involved in that, so the proposed amendment to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act seeks to clarify marine dumping provisions so that accountability doesn't depend solely on proving that intent to pollute when harmful substances are entering the marine environment. It would allow someone who is spilling to still establish due diligence and that they took all reasonable measures.
In closing, Bill C-244, the clean coasts act, is not a complete solution. Preventing abandonment and strengthening accountability are important steps, but they must be accompanied by other practical measures that support responsible vessel disposal, recycling and cleanup efforts. For that, the long-awaited vessel remediation fund is needed.
This is a practical and targeted bill. It builds on existing federal legislation, addresses gaps that have emerged through experience and focuses on preventing environmental harm before communities are left to deal with the consequences when they are much more expensive.
With that, I look forward to the committee's study and would be pleased to answer any questions that members have.
Thank you.
