A change in government has resulted in the acceptance of a warship to be sunk in Halkett Bay, despite the same government's refusal of the proposed project just four months earlier.
The Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia (ARSBC) has wanted to sink the 115-metre HMCS Annapolis off Gambier Island in Halkett Bay since 2009. They say the stripped warship would create a "new complex habitat to support an abundance of marine animals, bringing back renewed vitality" to the sea floor in the area.
ARSBC president Howard Robins said the sea floor has "suffered from decades of log-booming, and the resulting bark detritus has severely impacted marine life on the sea floor."
But since first bringing forward the idea in 2009, the ARSBC has faced immense opposition from concerned local citizens on the Save Halkett Bay group. That group maintains the sea floor is environmentally-sensitive and should be left unaltered.
It would seem Fisheries and Oceans Canada agreed when they sent a letter to the ARSBC in December 2009, saying "the marine environment of Howe Sound, including the vicinity of the proposed project site at Halkett Bay, is a productive and sensitive fish habitat shallower, near-shore areas with a fine sediment seabed - such as the proposed project site at Halkett Bay - are relatively uncommon."
In that correspondence from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, it was suggested the ARSBC look elsewhere for their project. In August of 2010 the Ministry of Environment denied a park use permit application by the ARSBC to sink the Annapolis saying "the sunken ship would cover and destroy approximately 1,470 square metres of shallow, near-shore fine sediment seabed."
Then in September the ship was offered as a gift to the parks division of the Ministry of Environment, but that offer was denied in November, because a master plan amendment process would have to take place before the ship could be sunk.
"After consideration of the offer, the Ministry is not prepared to accept the donation of the ship for sinking in Halkett Bay Park at this time," a letter to the ARSBC from the Ministry of Environment, parks division, stated.
But as of March 8, 2011 the Ministry has changed its mind about the project.
"The Ministry of Environment agreed to accept the ARSBC's donation of the former HMCS Annapolis and the services to sink the ship in Halkett Bay Provincial Park for the creation of an artificial reef, subject to certain conditions, including ARSBC first having obtained all required government approvals under any applicable statue, bylaw or other enactment," said Colin Grewar, public affairs officer for the Ministry of Environment. "While we are aware there are concerns about the project (increased boat traffic, disturbance of a natural resource), we are confident these concerns will be addressed during the additional approval processes."
Robins was delighted at the news, saying the change in government led to the change of heart about the project.
"There's been a change of personnel within the ministry and so it required the new people coming on board to review the facts as were provided from both sides with a closer eye to what we were trying to accomplish here. It was an issue that fundamentally had to be responded to by the province," Robins said.
"So we provided all the information and they made a decision on it, but ultimately it was their decision and they felt this was the right project for the right reason for the right place."
Andrew Strang, who has been working on the Save Halkett Bay campaign, said his group is surprised by the ministry's ruling to allow a project they previously felt was detrimental to the environment.
"It came as a surprise that a minister could come into power for less than five months and apparently ignore all the [previous rulings and findings] and accept the ship as a gift in direct contradiction to his own Ministry's prior assessments," he said.
Strang's group plans to lobby the government and try to halt the process.
Currently the HMCS Annapolis is getting ready to undergo an environmental assessment as one of the processes that must be completed before the actual sinking can take place.
"We hope the new minister will respect the previous processes and reverse this decision," Strang said.
