Skip to main content
canada

Minister of Transport Marc Garneau announced the enhanced coastal vessel inspection initiative during a speech at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on Wednesday.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press

The federal government has launched surprise inspections of tugs and barges along the British Columbia coast to send a signal it is serious about enforcing its safety regulations, Transport Minister Marc Garneau says.

Mr. Garneau said Wednesday that the inspection program is aligned with the $1.5-billion Oceans Protection Plan, a national effort announced last November that helped persuade the B.C. government to support the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion between Alberta and the Lower Mainland.

While inspections have always been done, Mr. Garneau said the new campaign that began Jan. 19 is part of a "concentrated focus" on the operational practices and certificates and credentials of barges and tugs.

"They play an important role in coastal traffic," Mr. Garneau told reporters after a speech to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, largely focused on the protection plan.

The minister referenced the Oct. 13 spill of the tug boat Nathan E. Stewart, which ran aground on a reef near the Heiltsuk community of Bella Bella, spilling more than 107,000 litres of diesel and 2,240 litres of engine oils into the Seaforth Channel. It took 32 days to remove the stricken vessel from the reef.

"It's important for us to do it. It's part of the signals that we're sending out," Mr. Garneau said when asked about the program, which he briefly mentioned in his speech.

"We're all aware of what happened in Bella Bella and we need to make sure that we address not only the bigger ships that go out but also the vessels that ply our coast, resupplying communities and bringing important products. We want to make sure it's all done in a safe manner."

In an e-mail exchange, Marilyn Slett, chief councillor for the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, said she could not comment on the concentrated campaign because she has not seen the details of the program.

"However, the Heiltsuk Nation would support any increased safety measures taken in regards [to] marine traffic along B.C.'s coast," Ms. Slett wrote Wednesday, after the minister's speech and remarks to reporters.

Mr. Garneau said he did not have any specific figures on the rate of inspections, but an official from the Transport Department, speaking on background, provided a sense of how the program has worked out on the water.

While the targeted vessels are routinely inspected on an appointment basis, the new program has seen departmental inspectors working with the Vancouver Police Department, RCMP and the Coast Guard to use their vessels to get out to ships on a more dynamic basis, said the official.

Last week, the inspections began in the Fraser River, with six vessels picked. Inspections were also done in Howe Sound near Squamish, though weather interfered with that effort. Next month, the inspection program will swing up to the central and then northern coast, said the official.

The official said that only "a couple of minor violations" were found by the inspection effort so far.

Keith Stewart, a spokesman for Greenpeace in Vancouver, said he hoped the government is not just acting to polish its image.

"I hope these stepped-up inspections are more than political posturing and continue after the Heiltsuk spill and pipeline-approval headlines fade," Mr. Stewart said in an e-mail.

"The challenge for pipeline proponents is that even with vessels up to code, accidents happen and we still don't have effective means to clean up bitumen spills."

The Oceans Protection Plan, announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a November visit to Vancouver, includes preventive and response measures to improve shipping, protect marine ecosystems, invest in oil-spill cleanup response and work with indigenous communities.

Mr. Garneau told the board of trade he has been "particularly pleased" with early discussions with coastal First Nations to develop a co-ordinated regional approach to enacting the protection plan, and looks forward to talks with other indigenous communities elsewhere in B.C. He cited joint efforts with the Heiltsuk on dealing with the Nathan E. Stewart situation.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe