On October 30, 2017, the federal government introduced Bill C-64, Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, to promote the protection of the public, of the environment, including coastlines and shorelines, and of infrastructure by, among other things, regulating wrecks and vessels posing hazards, prohibiting vessel abandonment, and recognizing the responsibility and liability of owners for their vessels.
The proposed Act is one of the six measures introduced under the federal government’s $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan to improve marine safety, which includes addressing abandoned vessels.
The following six measures make up the plan to address abandoned vessels:
- Proposed Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act
- Inventory and Assessments
- Improving vessel owner identification
- Long-term funding for the removal of wrecked and abandoned vessels
- Abandoned Boats Program
- Small Craft Harbours Abandoned and Wrecked Vessels Removal Program
On November 29, Transport Canada held an engagement session on the National Strategy to Address Abandoned and Wrecked Vessels. The following documents were shared at the session:
- Overview of the National Strategy to Address Abandoned and Wrecked Vessels [PDF - 3.6 MB]
- Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act [PDF - 758 KB]
- Overview of the Act [PDF - 666 KB]
- National Inventory and the Risk Assessment Methodology for Wrecked and Abandoned Vessels
UBCM also provided a review of the legislation [PDF - 202 KB] in the Compass on December 13, 2017, highlighting areas of most interest to BC local governments.
Significant Compass articles have been published on Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels:
Contact
Marylyn Chiang
Senior Policy Analyst
mchiang@ubcm.ca
(604) 270 8226 x110