WHEREAS there is currently no government agency that has mandated responsibility for dredging the secondary channels of the Fraser River; AND WHEREAS many businesses and communities along the Lower Fraser River experience economic losses from the on-going accumulation of sediment in local waterways; AND WHEREAS the foreshore areas and bed of the Fraser River are under Provincial jurisdiction: Therefore be it resolved that the provincial government be requested to develop, fund and implement a long-term, sustainable dredging program for the secondary channels of the lower Fraser River.
Ministry of Forests, Lands Natural Resource Operations Currently, no government agency has mandated responsibility for dredging the secondary channels of the Fraser River. The Province is able to provide land and water permits to local government and other parties for work undertaken in the river where appropriate but cannot undertake direct responsibility for dredging. Our current focus with respect to the Fraser River is flood hazard mitigation and public safety. The ministry regulates activity in the river and on the foreshore but has no mandate over navigation. Navigable waterways are within the jurisdiction of the federal government. Parts of the foreshore and bed of the Fraser River are under legal title to the Government of Canada.