Transport committee  If I would have the ability to show you the pictures, you would agree how the assessment would have been done. We're talking about vessels that are half sunk, submerged. Really, you don't have to be an expert to see that these vessels are—

Transport committee  Yes. First it's a visual inspection, and then tracking down ownership, and then seeing if it is utilized or not.

Transport committee  Well, they usually go hand in hand. Vessels that are in good shape are usually not abandoned.

Transport committee  Basically.

Transport committee  Yes. In our case, the vast majority are under 300 gross tonne. The challenge we have—

Transport committee  I was going to say that the challenge we see is that if you compare these smaller, under 300 gross tonne, derelict vessels to the automobile requirements for insurance and registration, you don't see a lot of abandoned automobiles along the road because that is tightened up, but

Transport committee  We paid that cost out of our own pocket. We don't receive any tax dollars to do so. We generate revenues. We use the revenues to do this kind of work. With this specific initiative, we paid over $2 million.

Transport committee  Besides that, individual vessels have cost up to $150,000 apiece to clean. It all depends on the size, and these are all under 300 gross tonnage.

Transport committee  Abandoned vessels can pose a threat to the environment, which I think is a major point. If they go adrift, they can pose a navigational hazard to deep-sea vessels and can cause the port to be shut down to avoid a bigger accident, as was described in the BC Ferries case. It's gr

Transport committee  There are areas outside of the port authority's jurisdiction that see a congregation of derelict vessels up in Mission and around the corner in Howe Sound.

Transport committee  Howe Sound is in provincial waters, so it becomes a provincial issue up in Squamish, Howe Sound. I know that the derelicts seem to congregate where there's the least amount of issues that they can come across. Within a port authority's jurisdiction, there's a lot of scrutiny and

Transport committee  What I specifically said was that the port authority's navigational jurisdiction is a specific jurisdiction within Canadian waters. What I don't see in the act is anything that allows port authorities to do specific things in relation to derelicts or proactively address derelicts

Transport committee  As a port authority, we fully support the bill and we're looking toward the regulations that would be made pursuant to it. We hope it would be that they would help out the port authority in dealing either proactively or retroactively with the problem and not put any prohibitions

Transport committee  Thank you for the invitation to appear before you. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, like other Canadian port authorities, is established by the Government of Canada pursuant to the Canada Marine Act, and is accountable to the federal Minister of Transport. Our mandate is t

Fisheries committee  I would say that on the west coast, they have for sure. There's a big interest by different foundations in, let's say, the processes on the west coast. So the answer would be yes.