The Federal Government is proposing legislation to address abandoned and derelict vessels.
Pam Goldsmith-Jones, MP for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky Country-Sunshine Coast says this issue is an issue they’ve been working hard and it impacts every community from coast to coast.
Goldsmith-Jones hopes that Bill C-64Â will be executed in a timely manner and that they have support from all members of the house.
The legislation establishes uniform rules for removing abandoned and derelict vessels and will require owners of large commercial vessels to carry insurance to cover the potential cost of disposing of the ships, and there will also be significant penalties in place to go after those who do abandon their vessels.
There won’t be fines or penalties imposed on the owners of boats that have already been abandoned their vessel and the government is working to establish an inventory of the existing vessels with a goal to try to remove them all.
Nanaimo Ladysmith NDP MP Sheila Malcolmson, who has been after the government to do something with regards to abandoned vessels says she will need some time to go through the bill to see if it fills all the gaps she believes have been identified by coastal communities.
