Premier Dexter calls on feds to take responsibility for marine wrecks
Posted Jul 29, 2013 07:04:08 AM.
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Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter is getting support from premiers across Canada for his idea that the federal government should take responsibility for marine wrecks.
It’s been 22 months since the MV Miner got stuck on the coast of Cape Breton.
The province has been trying to get Ottawa to pay for the cleanup, but just like the shipwreck, the federal government hasn’t budged.
Dexter says provinces shouldn’t have to fit the bill and he added in many cases, wrecks are carrying hazardous materials.
The premier led an all-party committee to Ottawa to try and make the province’s position on the wreck heard, but he said it fell on deaf ears.
“From my perspective, the next thing to do was engage my fellow premiers around the country and ask if they were experiencing the same thing,” he said.
Dexter said other premiers don’t want to see a similar situation, regardless of if they have a coastline or not.
“They now see the possibility of this happening and want to ensure there are proper rules put in place to guard against them being left with the responsibility of those kinds of costs,” he said.
The MV Miner was en route to Turkey when it ran aground on Scatarie Island in September 2011.
