While the City of Victoria is to be commended for delving into the issue of derelict and liveaboard boats in the Gorge Waterway, this is clearly a problem for senior government.
More than a dozen boats, some of them apparently abandoned, have been anchored northwest of the Selkirk Trestle near Banfield Park. The city has received more than 100 complaints 鈥� many of the boats are in poor condition, some leaking fuel and oil. Complaints have been received of raw sewage being dumped into the water.
While the area is within Victoria鈥檚 municipal boundaries, the situation is a jurisdictional tangle. The seabed is owned by the province while the surface is considered a navigable waterway, subject to federal navigation and marine habitat regulations. Simply passing a city bylaw won鈥檛 do the trick. Municipal regulations can be invoked as soon as someone steps ashore, but until then, the legal waters are murky.
As long as the situation is in regulatory limbo, it won鈥檛 get better, and in all likelihood, it will get worse.
And that鈥檚 a pity. Years of effort went into cleaning up the Gorge Waterway. It was once a polluted dumping ground; now it鈥檚 a beautiful scenic asset. It should not be jeopardized.
The provincial and federal governments should assume some responsibility for this situation. When heating oil 鈥� even a small amount 鈥� spills into a stream or storm drain and endangers habitat and water sources, B.C.鈥檚 environmental-emergency program kicks in. When oil or other pollutants spill into the ocean, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans gets involved. Neither level of government allows people to park their campers or trailers and live in them wherever they want.
Why is a boat leaking oil or dumping sewage any different? Why is a shantytown on water any different than a shantytown on land?
The solution should not be specific to the unofficial Selkirk marina. The problem goes far beyond Victoria; anchored derelict and deteriorating boats are a problem for almost every coastal community.
Derelict vessels 鈥� including fishing boats, barges and sailboats 鈥� have been accumulating in Tod Inlet for years. Brentwood Bay residents have watched a motley collection of old boats obscure their ocean view. For years, Ladysmith has been seeking the means to deal with what is locally called 鈥淒ogpatch,鈥� an assortment of derelict vessels just off the coast. Oak Bay residents, known for being rather particular about their neighbourhoods, have a view of less-than-shiny boats off their beaches, and there鈥檚 nothing they can do about it.
Some communities have taken action 鈥� in the fall of 2012, Port Hardy ordered a group of boaters to clear out of its harbour. But that鈥檚 just shoving the problem to another area.
It鈥檚 a provincewide problem that demands a provincewide solution. B.C. could look to derelict-vessel legislation in Washington state, where assistance is available to communities and other entities in the removal of abandoned boats.
B.C.鈥檚 regulations should also address the issue of liveaboards. Squatters aren鈥檛 allowed unregulated access to parks and other public lands 鈥� why should they be allowed unregulated use of public waters?
Still, there鈥檚 room for compromise, something between complete prohibition and the absence of regulation. Modest regulations could specify distances from shore, disposal of sewage, duration of stays and safety and environmental standards for vessels. Esthetic considerations should not be ignored 鈥� we celebrate our million-dollar views in B.C. and should not allow them to be ruined.
As Victoria officials look into this issue, they should be doing so with an eye to persuading the province to do its part in protecting B.C.鈥檚 waters.
