WHEREAS financial accountability for wildlife rescue and ecosystem recovery during, and subsequent to, oil spill response procedures is not currently part of the required cost liability for standard spill response costs undertaken by the Responsible Party in Canadian waters; AND WHEREAS the recovery and rehabilitation of the detrimental impacts to wildlife and ecosystems following oil spill events require adequate resources; AND WHEREAS wildlife rescue and ecosystem recovery are not currently a requirement of the emergency spill response process; AND WHEREAS government agency responsibilities for the management of oil spill events and their effects are fragmented; AND WHEREAS the inclusion of financial accountability for wildlife rescue and ecosystem recovery along the US west coast would be familiar both in concept and in business practice to industry; AND WHEREAS the US Environmental Protection Agency has an Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund which supplies adequate funding for wildlife rescue and ecosystem recovery costs in the event that a Responsible Party is either not identifiable or not able to be held accountable: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that: 1. The provincial and federal governments enact legislation to require that wildlife rescue and ecosystem recovery be part of standard oil spill response activities either on land or in water; 2. The provincial and federal governments explore appropriate measures to streamline governmental responsibilities in spill events; 3. The provincial and federal governments enact legislation to require payment of those costs attributable to wildlife rescue and ecosystem recovery caused by spill events to be borne by the Responsible Party; 4. The provincial and federal governments explore the feasibility of a Liability Trust Fund to provide funding for spill event remediation when the Responsible Party cannot be identified or held accountable.
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT The Ministry should continue to press the federal government to adopt a national incident management system based on the Incident Command System. This would include adopting Unified Command to ensure the federal response to all types of emergencies is consistent with the approach taken by the Province of British Columbia Province, industry, local government, and most jurisdictions in North America. The Environmental Emergencies Program has formed a legislative review team that will recommend changes to the existing environmental emergency legislation. The scope of this review includes oiled wildlife response, and the creation of an industry-funded hazardous material spill response cooperative. The Province should continue to advocate that Transport Canada as the responsible federal agency require the existing marine response cooperative to develop an appropriate oiled wildlife response capacity and capability. The Ministry is in the process of developing an oiled wildlife response plan to provide clear direction to a Responsible Party. Ministry staff will meet the Canadian Wildlife Service and other stakeholders to discuss the draft plan in the near future.
MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION With respect to resolution B173 pertaining to oil spill response procedures in regard to wildlife rescue, such a project would not be eligible within the categories under the Building Canada Fund.