Mr. Chair and members of the committee, good day. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you about the Canada Marine Act.
I am representing the South Coast Ship Watch Alliance, which is the collective voice of eight coastal communities within the southern Gulf Islands and adjacent Vancouver Island coastlines.
This is important work you are doing. Your dedication to the goal of preserving our environment, despite being from different political parties, is very much appreciated. I am here to encourage you on behalf of my fellow islanders, our children and grandchildren, and the indigenous peoples of the west coast to further your work and preserve a very special part of Canada with over 300 species at risk.
The narrow waterways surrounding our islands are being used as an unnecessary overflow parking lot for the port of Vancouver. Currently, there are 33 anchorages for large cargo ships designated for vessels waiting for a berth in the port of Vancouver. Almost all ships using these anchorages are bulk carriers arriving empty to load coal and grain. They often arrive too early for their berthing times in the port, staying for weeks and occasionally months at a time. The increase in use has been staggering—from only 19 ships in 2009 to 476 ships last year, staying for 5,900 anchoring days.
The negative environmental impacts of this anchoring are significant and increasing.
Our air is being polluted by the constant spewing of diesel exhaust from large on-board generators—up to 10 tonnes of greenhouse gas per ship per day. This is in a region declared by our provincial government as a high smoke sensitivity zone.
Excessive noise both above and under the water is created by these cargo ships at anchor and during transit to these anchorages. Underwater noise disrupts the feeding, breeding, navigation and communication of marine species, especially the threatened southern resident killer whales. Above water, the very health of coastal residents is being affected.
The seabed ecosystems of our Salish Sea are constantly being scoured by large anchor chains. We are living with the constant fear of a major incident as a result of ships dragging their anchors during winter storms. The resulting oil spill would be catastrophic.
We are concerned that the consequence of the word “anchorage” in proposed paragraph (f.2) of Bill C-33 would be to allow the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, an industrial entity, to implement its plan to expand its jurisdictional boundaries to include cargo ship anchorages within the southern Gulf Islands and the adjacent Vancouver Island waters. This should not happen.
These anchorages are unnecessary. If the port of Vancouver implemented a modern vessel arrival system and restricted early arrivals, as is done in ports elsewhere; if the Minister of Transport would demand the port require all-weather grain loading—currently, grain cannot be loaded in the rain in Vancouver; if the federal government would suspend shipping of thermal coal, a major contributor to climate change; and if the supply chain to the port was optimized and the many inefficiencies addressed, we would see an end to this attack on the fragile ecosystems of our Salish Sea.
For years now, the indigenous peoples and coastal residents of the Salish Sea have been sounding the alarm about the ever-increasing attack on our marine environment, air and health. Bill C-33 has raised our hopes that our government will finally strengthen that important clause of the act under “Purpose”, paragraph 4(d): “provide for a high level of safety and environmental protection”. We support the marine transportation industry and its contribution to the Canadian economy as stated in the purpose of the act, but no economic gains can buy back our environment.
It was five years ago this month when my fellow coastal resident Chris Straw passionately addressed this committee on this same topic. Unfortunately, he passed away without realizing the dream of eliminating these anchorages. On his behalf and that of all islanders in the southern Gulf Islands and the adjacent Vancouver Island, we need your help now to protect the Salish Sea.
Thank you for your time.