Thank you, Mr. Chair.

'Uy' skweyul, everyone.

[Witness spoke in Hul'q'imi'num']

[English]

My name is John White, and I'm, like you said, the marine director for Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Snuneymuxw First Nation is located in the heart of the Salish Sea on the eastern side of Vancouver Island. Since time immemorial, the Snuneymuxw mustimuxw have resided in the Snuneymuxw traditional territory as first peoples, sustaining our lands, resources, culture and spiritual way. Our territory encompasses one of the most resource-rich areas in the heart of the Salish Sea. I understand that I'm called as a witness. However, first nations in Canada need to be a part of the complete law-making process. I think that's important for me to bring up here today.

The Snuneymuxw marine division, the Snuneymuxw nation and Canadians are facing significant challenges in dealing with derelict vessels within our traditional territory. Derelict vessels compromise Snuneymuxw peoples' food sovereignty and traditional way of life. Snuneymuxw holds stewardship of our waters and lands as our highest priority to ensure that our people and generations to follow can continue to live as our ancestors and elders have lived for thousands of generations before contact. The Snuneymuxw marine division intervention becomes crucial in safeguarding the environment and in mitigating the impacts of these hazards.

There is the environmental and ecological damage that they pose, damaging Pacific salmon stocks and damaging rearing habitat in one of British Columbia's largest estuaries, the Nanaimo River estuary. Snuneymuxw is seeing the largest decline in Pacific salmon stocks in history, specifically the Fraser River sockeye salmon run. It's a historical run of over 100 million fish, and it has declined to 500,000 as of this year. So, there's a major decline in the sockeye salmon, every other species of salmon in our area, and the listed DU 21 chinook stocks on the Nanaimo River. The Nanaimo River system has seen a decline, as I mentioned, in all Pacific salmon that call this system home. The man-made cumulative impacts have been detrimental to the survival of these Pacific salmon.

Reports from October 2021 have indicated that nearly 1,600 derelict vessels have been found on the coast of British Columbia. The Canadian government enacted the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act in July 2019. Before this act, it was legal and common for boat owners to abandon derelict vessels on the B.C. coast, causing derelict vessels to be a historic problem.

Since being legislated, the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act has given the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada some tools to deal with the future of abandoned vessels. It has shifted the responsibility of wrecked, abandoned and hazardous vessels back to owners, which is a high priority for us as first nations.

That being said, the lack of capacity and timely response is becoming more evident with the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada, and the first nations' response has become ever more relevant.

Although there are some tools being created to stop future derelict vessels from posing environmental risk to our coastlines—for example, the Canadian Coast Guard's co-developing community response program, CDCR,—but more needs to be done both federally and provincially, including long-term sustainable funding to support identification and prevention.

Derelict vessels have been anchored and subsequently abandoned in the Snuneymuxw First Nation territory, presenting a multi-faceted problem for the Snuneymuxw marine division emergency response team. When an owner leaves a vessel unattended, it often falls into despair, jeopardizing the integrity of the marine environment around it. In response to such situations, the marine division takes on the responsibility of assessing and addressing the impacts of these abandoned vessels.

The nation works diligently with BC Parks, local ports, the Canadian Coast Guard, local residents and our Snuneymuxw community to observe and respond to the derelict vessel program. Upon identifying a derelict vessel, the Snuneymuxw marine division employs specialized equipment to monitor its condition and degradation over time. Notices are affixed to the vessel, serving as a communication tool to alert the owner of the vessel about its status. However, the reality is that in many cases the vessel is left abandoned, leading to potential environmental hazards.