The federal government is reconsidering whether a proposed $10 fee on boat owners is enough to cover the soaring cost of removing abandoned and wrecked vessels from Canada’s waterways, with enforcement of the new levy “likely” by 2028.In a report to the Commons fisheries committee, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said it is reviewing whether the planned Vessel Remediation Fund fee will be sufficient to tackle what it described as a persistent and costly national problem.“The government recognizes the importance of setting fee levels which will be sufficient to address the problem of wrecked, abandoned or hazardous vessels without creating an undue compliance burden on vessel owners,” the department wrote. It confirmed consultations have examined both a $10 and $15 fee, and further discussions may be required before a final schedule is set.Blacklock's Reporter said cabinet first proposed the Vessel Remediation Fund in 2022, with fees ranging from a minimum $10 every five years for pleasure craft to as much as $1,000 for commercial vessels. Parliament approved the framework in 2023 through Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act, but the fund has yet to come into force.The fisheries committee urged Ottawa to consider steeper fees to ensure harbour cleanups can be financed nationwide. In its formal Government Response, the department said it supports that recommendation.The proposed fund would mirror earlier industry-financed programs such as the 1974 Ship-Source Oil Pollution Fund and a 2016 fund covering railway accidents involving designated goods, both of which levy fees on industry to offset cleanup costs.The scale of the derelict vessel problem has grown in recent years. .When Parliament passed Bill C-64, the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, in 2018, Transport Canada estimated there were roughly 500 derelict freighters, barges and fishing boats across the country. That number was later revised upward to 1,358 vessels.To date, the Canadian Coast Guard has spent approximately $300 million removing 791 wrecks. While regulators can attempt to recover costs from vessel owners or insurers, the fisheries committee noted that identifying responsible parties is often difficult or impossible.Federal officials have not published an estimate of the total liability taxpayers could face in clearing all remaining wrecks. Past incidents underscore the expense. The freighter Canadian Miner, which ran aground off Cape Breton in 2011 carrying fuel oil and 30 tonnes of asbestos, ultimately cost Nova Scotia taxpayers more than $12 million.Former fisheries minister Dominic LeBlanc told MPs in earlier testimony that taxpayers alone should not shoulder the burden.“We think the owners of these vessels have to be held to account and have to pay the bill,” LeBlanc said. “Canadian taxpayers can’t fund every single one of these.”Calling abandoned vessels “a horrible problem,” LeBlanc compared the practice to ditching a car on a highway and walking away — something no motorist could legally do on land, yet which continues to occur on Canada’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters.
