Fisheries Committee on April 23rd, 2015

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

I'd like to contest that because apparently it was two days later before the coast guard actually had a command centre set up to coordinate that, and a lot of the concerns the city and the province had were about the lack of clarity as to who was to do what and the lack of coordination by the federal government.

[Jody Thomas]

The coast guard took charge of the incident within 20 minutes of being informed of a sheen on the water.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Thank you.

Do you see as “world class” a 12-hour delay in having absorbent booms in place when every other factor is in favour of a quick response? If so, I'd like you to table any information that would support that as an adequate, never mind world-class, response.

[Jody Thomas]

There are multiple elements to a response to a leak of fuel. Number one, identifying the vessel was critical. That took a long time.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Okay, so thank you. I asked a very specific question about a 12-hour timing before an absorbent boom is in place—

[Jody Thomas]

Yes, but I'm explaining—

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

But I'm not getting an answer so....

[Jody Thomas]

Well, you're not letting me answer.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Well, I'd like an answer to that.

[Jody Thomas]

I'm telling you that there are multiple steps and it doesn't go straight to booming. You have to identify what vessel is sinking.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Okay, thank you. Now would you table any data that would show that a 12-hour delay is an acceptable delay, never mind world class. Thank you. I will appreciate that.

Apparently the coast guard leadership and the government claimed that the Kitsilano coast guard base closure would not have made any difference. However, a former coast guard base commander, Fred Moxey, claimed the coast guard base did have the capacity to respond, and did have the booming capacity to respond. They would have been onsite within six minutes and could have had booms in place within an hour.

That was then confirmed by Mike Cotter, who is a long-term executive manager of the Jericho Sailing Centre, and who, for 25 years, had worked hand in hand with search and rescue on these waters. He took photos of a response vessel that was actually located at the Kits coast guard base and was based there.

I will quote Mr. Cotter. He said there were:

...various reports from the Canadian Coast Guard officials stating that the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station was not equipped with pollution response equipment. I know this not to be true, having been familiarized with the Station, and having witnessed their environmental response to several incidents over the 25 years I managed the...Centre while the [base] was open....

Then he enclosed photos of this pollution response vessel that was based at Kits.

It has been very puzzling to people in Vancouver why the coast guard and government have been making claims that appear to be not true.

[Jody Thomas]

The coast guard has not made any claims that are not true. The Kitsilano coast guard station was a search and rescue station that was equipped with a boom to respond to small spills that are connected to an incident where a vessel sinks—a small pleasure craft. They had 700 feet of boom at the maximum, and on the day that station was closed.

Fifteen hundred and twenty metres of boom were used to boom the Marathassa. The response that was designed by coast guard leadership in conjunction with WCMRC was to use the most effective, most professional, most trained individuals. They are the response organization in WCMRC. They are the responders for Vancouver harbour.

With the polluter-pay system as it exists in Canada, every vessel must have a relationship with a response organization or be able to respond to a spill. WCMRC is that response organization on the west coast of B.C.—

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Thank you.

I have some other questions, and that information has been contradicted by actual commanders of the Kitsilano coast guard base who have said there were over 600 metres of boom available at the Kitsilano coast guard base.

How does the coast guard plan to improve its oil spill response immediately? What is the process the coast guard will use to restore confidence that has been lost in our province, our city, our provincial government, and our residents due to the confusion and delays in response to the spill?

[Jody Thomas]

I will reiterate that there should be no confusion or no confidence lost. The coast guard responded. We are drafting a terms of reference for a post-op that we will do. We do this after every incident. This one is no different.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Thank you. We'll be interested to see that.

I would also appreciate the data, the research, that would support the coast guard's contention that two days after the spill, or less than two days, the spill size was 2,700 litres. Apparently that was just from a visual look and had nothing to do with the crude oil bunker fuel that had sunk below the surface. Also, the assertion was made that 80% had been recovered at that point. I would like to know on what basis, what factual basis, those claims were made early on.

Would you or the minister table any information to support those assertions in fact of the size of the spill, which the city is contesting, and the percentage that had been cleaned up?

[Jody Thomas]

In terms of the estimate, that came from Transport Canada and Environment Canada. They have a highly technical and scientific process called the national aerial surveillance program. That flight—

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

So the coast guard itself had no data to support that?

[Jody Thomas]

We worked—

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

Thank you, Ms. Murray. Your time is up.

[Jody Thomas]

If I could just answer? The—

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

I'll let Ms. Thomas finish, but—

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

[Inaudible—Editor]...it's not acceptable to me—

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

Thank you, Ms. Murray.

Ms. Murray, I said I would let her finish. Please, let her finish.

[Jody Thomas]

The coast guard works in tandem with Transport Canada and Environment Canada. They provide us that piece of information.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Thank you. So the coast guard did not have the verification...?