Mr. Speaker, first of all, I have to say that the member is incorrect. What the bill actually says is that:
...the receiver of wreck shall take reasonable steps to determine and locate the owner of the wreck, including by giving notice of the wreck in the manner that the receiver considers most effective and appropriate.
We currently have a receiver of wrecks program, and the receiver of wrecks program does not actually require the receiver of wrecks to pay for the apprehension of the vessel.
As I would presume the member knows, I cannot require taxpayers to spend money in a private member's bill and there is no effort in this bill to do so. I would not be requiring taxpayers to spend money. What I am asking the government to do is to take some leadership on this very serious issue.
Washington State has a model where it is not the taxpayers who pays for the derelict vessels. In the Washington State model, there is a designated fund that is somewhat like the recycling fee that is applied to other products in this country. That money is put aside. There is a mechanism that is not taxpayer funded to deal with derelict vessels, and I would encourage the government to look at that model.