CADBORO BAY —A BC NDP government will make addressing the serious problem of abandoned vessels on our coasts a priority, said Vancouver Island BC NDP candidates.

“John Horgan and the BC NDP will show leadership to help clean up and protect our waterways,” said Saanich North and the Islands BC NDP candidate Gary Holman. “Christy Clark hasn’t lifted a finger, likely because no big donor asked her to.”

Holman said a John Horgan government will address the issue in partnership with First Nations and federal and local governments, and by focusing on roles the provincial government already oversees. That could include taking over the registration of vessels, as the province does for motor and recreational vehicles, to make it easier to find vessel owners and help reduce costs for taxpayers. It could also include recycling and disposition of engines, fibreglass hulls and other components, as British Columbia does for many other products through a variety of stewardship programs.

"Christy Clark ignored a decade of calls to protect our coasts from abandoned vessels, forcing local governments in BC to try to address the safety and environmental risks posed by abandoned vessels on a boat-by-boat basis,” said former BC conservation officer and BC NDP candidate for Oak Bay-Gordon Head Bryce Casavant. “We need a provincial government that will work with coastal communities and extend existing programs to deal with boats posing risks to our environment, tourism, and job-generating operations such as shellfish fisheries.”

Based on private member’s legislation introduced by Sheila Malcolmson, the Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Ladysmith, to establish a regulatory and funding framework for abandoned vessels, the BC NDP would formalize a working group comprised of First Nations, federal, provincial and local government representatives, along with other key stakeholders, with a mandate to develop and recommend a regulatory and funding framework by May of 2018.

“It’s part of our commitment to create good green jobs in sustainable local economies,” Holman said. “We can support local marine salvage businesses and work with boat builders, maintenance companies and boat owners to extend product lifecycles and responsibly dispose of vessels used for work and play along British Columbia’s precious coastlines.”