Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Gord Edwards. I am a councillor for the Snaw-naw-as First Nation. We are located on Vancouver Island—the midsection on the west coast of the island. As the previous speaker, Chief Lenora Joe, said—and greetings, Chief Lenora Joe—our concerns are compatible.
When I was called to make some comments about derelict and abandoned boats, boats drifting in—personal, business or industrial boats—of course it was a concern. We have had our share of derelict boats—boats floating into the community beachfront, being left behind or sitting on the water for days and weeks. It took only one experience to realize that it could be a concern. The concerns are the potential of leakage, of oil dumping out onto our already limited beachfront. We have oysters, clams, Manila, seafood and sea cucumbers. We have those things that we depend on: It's our dinner table when it comes to harvesting for our community of about 200 people.
It took just that one experience of a sailboat that had been left and was crashing up along the breakwater. Of course, our first concern was the contamination that could develop. Then the second thing, of course, was about these things breaking loose and coming into our community beachhold. We have other people with boats, and there are boats coming in and crashing into each other, damaging boats. We're fortunate that none of that happened, but it made us stop and think. When Lisa Marie called and said, “Our discussion's on derelict boats,” those were first things that came into our minds.
I send greetings from our chief, Chief Brent Edwards. He's not able to make it today. I am happy to appear on his behalf and to make those comments about our concerns about the limited beachfront that we have for access to seafood.
I also point this out: Where do we go, and who do we connect with if we have a derelict boat sitting there? I was looking at a picture, on the Salish Sea website, of a sailboat that was left on the beach, and part of that sail was dug into the beach because it had been there that long. It can damage a waterfront that our children enjoy, that I enjoyed as a kid, and my grandparents, and my aunts and uncles. I do not want to see that happen in our stretch that we share with so many other people from the south, say in Lantzville and Nanaimo, and north in Nanoose and Parksville. We may not have as many derelict, abandoned or damaged boats just being left by people, businesses or development, but we've had our share of them.
One major point that comes to my thoughts about what to say here is, who do we go to? Do we go to Fisheries and Oceans? Do we go to the local municipal people? Do we deal with it ourselves? Can we take the boat? I don't remember the old pirates' version of ownership, but what are the rules around it? What are the processes involved for dealing with debris, contamination and the potential damage it could do to our oyster and clam farms—which we have—and to the ability of our members to go to the beach and have a plate of seafood for dinner.
Huy ch q'u. Thank you for allowing me to come in, and I look forward to what this panel develops for us as citizens to consider.