Letter re Proactive Vessel Management

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Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola  Galiano Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
 
 
200-1627 Fort Street, Victoria BC  V8R 1H8 
Telephone  (250) 405-5151    Fax  (250) 405-5155 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver 604.660-2421.  Elsewhere in BC 1.800.663.7867 
Email  information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Web  www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
October 5, 2018 File No.: 5020-30 
 
via online submission: https://letstalktransportation.ca/OPP 
 
Transport Canada 
Let’s talk Ocean Protection Plan 
 
To whom it may concern:  
 
Re:  Proactive Vessel Management Discussion Paper 
 
I am writing on behalf of the Islands Trust Council to provide comments on the Proactive Vessel Management 
Discussion Paper. 
 
We support the proposed collaborative approach the Government of Canada is suggesting for the Proactive 
Vessel Management Initiative which aims to address vessel traffic issues in local waterways and to reduce the 
impacts of shipping in the short and long term. We are hopeful that the initiative will result in solutions 
founded in local knowledge and experience. As the discussion paper states, Indigenous peoples and coastal 
communities are raising concerns about how waterways are used and the potential impacts of vessels on 
ecologically and culturally sensitive marine and coastal areas.  
 
There are numerous vessel traffic issues/conflicts in the Islands Trust Area. With significant numbers of 
recreational boaters with varying levels of skill, including kayakers, there are many issues associated with 
interactions with commercial deep-sea vessels. There are also many environmental concerns about the 
impacts vessels can have on local environments including marine pollution, air emissions, illegal and legal 
sewage dumping, wake damage, and light and noise disturbances to marine and terrestrial wildlife. A 
dominant issue in our region is the socio-economic impacts of anchored deep-sea commercial vessels. 
Residents have had enough of the increased number of vessels, the increasing size of these vessels and the 
longer periods of time that ships spend at anchor. What started as an infrequent practice to accommodate 
overflow vessel traffic at Port of Vancouver has become a daily traffic handling measure. These issues should 
be considered through the Proactive Vessel Management Initiative in cooperation with the work being done by 
the Anchorage Initiative under the Ocean Protection Plan. 
 
While we generally support the discussion paper’s framework principles we suggest that they be amended to 
reference the key principles that the Canada Ocean Strategy says should guide all ocean management decision 
making: sustainable development, integrated management, and precautionary approach. 
 
We also request that there be funding to allow First Nations and local governments to do research and attend 
meetings. Meetings should be open to the public and have written records that are available to ensure public 
transpa

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