On March 4, a group of Squamish residents concerned about safety, security and esthetics along the Mamquam Blind Channel gathered along the oceanfront to show the owner of a rusty, 200-foot-long former U.S. navy transport ship that the vessel was not welcome in the channel. This week the boat was anchored near the channel's mouth.
On Jan. 14, a 112-year-old tugboat maintained the same person sank in the channel, spilling what the Canadian Coast Guard estimated was 1,500 litres of diesel fuel. The person who maintained the vessel, Steen Larsen, disputes the amount and says the Coast Guard had no authority to do what it did after the Elf was raised, which was begin towing it to Vancouver for inspection. Before it arrived, the Elf sank off Point Atkinson, where it lies today.
We're not going to pass judgment on those issues, which are up to the courts to decide, if they ever get that far. We're also not prepared to label anyone a villain, as it's up to the authorities to deal with any alleged violations of the law, now or in the future.
As a community, though, we can't keep lurching from one crisis to another on the Blind Channel. Elected officials -led by the District of Squamish -need to enact rules to help bring the situation under control. The first step, perhaps, is for the DOS to extend its unsightly premises bylaw to include water lots, allowing it to issue enforcement notices to landowners found in violation.
Last year, The Chief printed a series of articles on the opportunities and challenges of our community's marine future. One made reference to a regime enacted a few years ago by the City of Vancouver. The Boating Restriction Regulation (BRR) has helped the city get a handle on boating activity in False Creek. The key to its success, one official said, has been its focus on three main concerns: "From a safety standpoint, one of them was congestion. Equity issues, making room to accommodate all types of users, was second. Third, there was the environmental side of things"
Of course, enforcing such rules comes at a cost. That's where the Feds come in -and we'd say it's time for all levels of government to come together and agree on an even-handed approach that brings order to the chaos that exists on our waterways.
- David Burke
