A lack of insurance is at the heart of a federal-provincial dispute over the clean-up costs of a shipwreck off Cape Breton’s coast nearly five years ago.
The Main-a-Dieu Community Development Association of Cape Breton has raised concerns surrounding the government’s response to the case of the MV Miner, a bulk carrier that wrecked on Scatarie Island in 2011, including a lack of a federal financial contribution to the salvage.
“Despite the undisputed fact that Transport Canada licensed the towing of the vessel, at the height of hurricane season, without securing adequate bond or insurance from the owners, the federal government has consistently refused to accept any responsibility for either the accident or its potentially devastating consequences on our fragile environment and fishing-dependent economy,” reads a news release from the association.
Although the vessel was wrecked while being towed under Transport Canada licensing, the federal government has repeatedly denied responsibility for cleaning up the wreck, and the Nova Scotia government was forced to embark on an emergency salvage effort.
The MV Miner’s removal was slated to be completed by last November but was delayed when 26,000 litres of diesel fuel and 32 tonnes of asbestos were found in the wreckage. The vessel was finally salvaged this June at a cost of more than $12-million to the provincial government, and the cleanup is still underway.
Association president Amanda McDougall said letters will be sent to the leaders of all four political parties, as well as all federal candidates in the two Cape Breton ridings.
