Fisheries Committee on May 27th, 2008

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Do you have any trouble in this area? Is there enough room at your wharf? Do you have trouble with vessels that are abandoned? Would you have any recommendation on record for the committee to submit to the government in order to handle these situations, because you lose money in this situation?

[David Schmidt]

Number one, our wharf is very small and there is a constant fight for space. We are trying to address that through some expansion. Like Mr. Davidge, we have been successful in getting funds from ICET and the Coast Sustainability Trust as well.

As far as derelicts go, we don't seem to have that much of a problem. There seems to be a good network within the community itself that lets people know when there's a boat coming that shouldn't be there. Definitely the regulations on how to get rid of them needs to be streamlined. I guess a better definition of derelict would be nice, and a definition of a time period.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Mr. Lévesque, for three minutes.

[Yvon Lévesque, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It's the first time that we have seen so many abandoned boats in British Columbia harbours. In fact, we have not seen any similar cases until now. You are suggesting that you be given the power to resolve legal problems, a kind of state power that would allow you to establish and implement regulations and legally collect entrance fees into your harbours.

When a fishing licence is issued, a deposit could be required. This could be valid until the licence expires or until the licence holder leaves that wharf. The deposit could then be returned. Otherwise the deposit could be used to cover the expenses of the harbours in question.

[Pat McPhee]

Well, I know there are no provisions for going after the person who has the fishing licence for that boat. That would certainly help a lot if you were able to go after that licence. It would be no different from getting a bunch of speeding tickets and before you go to get your licence again next year, they have to be paid up. There is a reciprocity there that means that ticket has to be paid up before they issue your licence. That would certainly work with a fishing licence for the ones who are getting a fishing licence each year. If there were any back debts to be paid, those debts would have to be paid up prior to.... In other words, it's like putting a lien against their licence.

[John Tidbury]

We also have a small problem, and I'm sure it's the case elsewhere on the coast. For some boat owners, we don't know who is registered to the boat. So we have a great problem trying to find out who owns the boat. And I'm sure that happens up and down the coast. It happens here.

I think you're on the right track in saying we need some regulations or some sort of system so we can remove these boats from the system or get them out of our dock areas.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you, Mr. Lévesque.

Mr. Stoffer.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I always say that a quick way to find out who the owner is is to burn the boat, and that person will show up in a hurry. But that's off the record, of course.

First of all, Mr. McPhee, thank you for your services. You're an RCMP officer, by the way. And my best to your son, as well.

Mr. Cranmer and Mr. Schmidt, are your organizations part of the Harbour Authority Association of British Columbia?

[Chief William Cranmer]

No, I don't think we are.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

You're not. And may I ask why?

[Chief William Cranmer]

We probably didn't know about it.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Okay. Yesterday we heard from the president of the organization. I was quite impressed by the fact that all the harbour associations that are part of it actually talk to one another, and they have meetings once or twice a year. They exchange information on best practices. That way if somebody is having a problem in one harbour, they can ask someone else about it.

I would highly recommend that you get in touch with them to become part of their organization, because I think a lot of questions and a lot of concerns you have they can answer for you. And they'll also help you and point you in the right direction.

I asked the question earlier about those floating docks. How were you able to achieve that type of construction in Port Hardy? I was quite impressed by that. It looks to me like the wave of the future for wharf construction. I'm just wondering how you were able to identify the work that needed to be done, the work you did with DFO, and what we saw today.

[Rick Davidge]

We had an opportunity to work with our harbour commission and with stakeholder groups in developing that plan. It came down to being able to service the fleet and then some of the larger vessels in the fleet as well in a reasonable way. And it provided a mechanism whereby the service industry in our community on the north island would be able to get their vehicles right down onto the floats and get right alongside and get a welder or an electronics person or anybody in the service industry.

We looked at it from a maintenance perspective as well. The maintenance on this looks great, as opposed to the old timber structures.

So it seemed to be a win-win all the way around.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you, Mr. Stoffer.

We'll go to Mr. Kamp.

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, gentlemen, for appearing. I appreciate being able to be up here. I'm from British Columbia, so it's good to be home.

I just have a comment, and then I need a couple of points of clarification.

At the Port Hardy wharf, I was pleased to see that you've put in place some environmental innovations to address spillage and runoff that shouldn't end up in the water. It's very good to see that. I know that there are a few wharves moving in that direction. I'm pleased to see that.

In terms of the derelicts, I think we heard in other locations that the buyback programs in the past have kind of contributed to that increase in the number of derelicts. I wonder if that's your view as well. People decided to sell their licences, but they still have this boat that nobody wants, so they just let it sit there forever. Is that contributing to the problem, do you think?

[Pat McPhee]

I wouldn't be able to say if it's a contributing factor there at all. The boats we're dealing with belong to people who have basically tied them up there and literally abandoned them. They're not working any more. They're not serviceable any more. And they just literally abandon them. They're down in the dumps, and they're not going to bring them back up. They themselves are financially strapped to the point that they will never see daylight as far as raising that boat or getting it up and running again or ever owning another boat.

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

Mr. Davidge, could you just clarify for me, sort of, the management-ownership model of the Port Hardy wharves? Is it a harbour commission, as such, that holds—

[Rick Davidge]

That's correct.

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

--the lease to these properties? How does that work?

[Rick Davidge]

Yes, the actual agreements are with the District of Port Hardy. The harbour authority is Port Hardy. Our advisory group, our local planning commission, also has a mandate to look at harbour issues on an advisory basis for council. So they review policies and procedures in relation to the small craft harbour.

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

Does this structure, having the harbour authority basically be the district municipality, work well? What benefits do you see that structure providing, as opposed to having sort of a complete volunteer harbour authority?

[Rick Davidge]

I think it allows more depth in the organization. We have our harbour managers on the ground down there, but we also have a public works department that can bring equipment in to help them. And we have a number of other resources within the town that we can call on, as well.

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you, Mr. Davidge.

Go ahead.