Rising Tides False Creek Governance

Statement Watch

Sorry about that. That's okay. Thank you, Honorable Mayor and Council, for the opportunity to speak to this very exciting motion, which I wholeheartedly support as the executive manager of the False Creek Friends Society. False Creek is today, and has been for over a century, cloaked inside of a somebody else's problem field. A field such as this, applied to any place which would otherwise be difficult to rationally accept, makes it second nature to ignore. This precious urban waterway at the literal and metaphorical heart of our city is in a perpetual state of quiet dysfunction with unsafe waters, unregulated vessels, and, crucially, an overall lack of holistic, proactive management. I want to dwell for a moment on just how beloved False Creek is for this city and how iconic, because if you do an image search for just Vancouver, count how many pictures prominently feature False Creek. In my experience, it's about two-thirds. It's no exaggeration to say that False Creek represents Vancouver as a whole, both outwardly to the world and in the minds of all Vancouverites. At this wide-angle scale of landscape photography, False Creek is stunningly beautiful. But if we zoom in, walk along the seawall, notice. Notice the hardened shoreline, largely devoid of intertidal life. Notice how few places there are for people to actually be in safe contact with the water, to develop a relationship with the Salish Sea that we are all so privileged to live beside. Notice a space that has fallen victim to a Gordian knot of overlapping, fragmented jurisdictions. Let's consider the different governments and agencies who have interests in False Creek. Specifically, it's nature, water, and health, or it's lands and docks, or it's vessel traffic and safety. There's no shortage of regulators, but there is not one which stands for False Creek as a whole. This motion points the way for the city of Vancouver to take leadership in finally solving this issue and to do so in true partnership with the nations of Musqueam, Squamish, and TTsleil-Waututh, the province of British Columbia, and the federal government of Canada. Together, we can achieve a future for False Creek that has a clear point of coordination for all matters of regulation, stewardship, and planning. Not only would this mean more efficient, transparent, equitable, and effective management, it would pay dividends economically, culturally, and ecologically, supporting every dimension of Vancouver's public health. Please vote in support of this motion and in support of the False Creek that all Vancouver needs. Thank you for your time.

Statement Watch

Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm a resident of Vancouver. I'm an instructor at Langara College. I'm also one of the research leads doing collaborative research with the False Creek Friends Society, but today I'm speaking from my own perspective. When a scientist looks at a place to leverage their expertise, the funding that's available, and the support from the community to do research, they look for exciting opportunities. I think that's self-evident. When people look for those opportunities within False Creek, they are met with a rat's nest of overlapping bureaucracies and no clear place to start. This is the case for myself and my co-investigator, Langer College, even though we knew the incredible potential for leveraging federal funding dollars to conducting ecological research next to one of a world-class city and our home. In order for Vancouver to seize the incredible opportunity of its local expertise, Vancouver is a world leader. BC especially is a world leader in ecological research and other forms of science. In order for us to leverage that opportunity, scientists need to, researchers, community groups, need to decide that it is worthwhile to take a hack at the so-called Gordian Knot. and to nod it with their teeth to try to figure out where did they even start? Who do they talk to? Without long-established relationships with False Creek Friends Society or other nonprofits and a considerable investment of time, these startup costs in terms of energy and bureaucracy and the wait times associated with that are often enough to dissuade them from doing research in Vancouver on False Creek. Councillor Orr's motion, which I'm speaking in support of, is the important first preliminary step to establishing a clear channel for local expertise and federal and provincial research dollars, as well as money from other non-profit foundations, to flow into this city and to take advantage of the incredible enthusiasm that Vancouverites have for False Creek. As we've been doing our preliminary research so far, we're in the first year of our project, one of the things that jumped out at me is this almost miraculous consensus that people have that False Creek is worth knowing more deeply. There's only been maybe one person out of dozens of people that isn't incredibly excited to learn more about what is right next to them. This preliminary study that Councillor Orr's motion supports is a really important first step to getting to that place and taking advantage of, again, world-class, homegrown expertise and taking advantage of funding from other places to invest in the heart of our city. Thank you very much for your time.

Statement Watch

Hello, Marin Council. My name is Grace Nombrado. I'm a Vancouver resident and the Executive Director of Free the Fern Stewardship Society, and I'm speaking in support of this motion. False Creek tells two stories. One is a story of industrialization, habitat loss, and environmental degradation. The other story is still being written, a story of restoration, stewardship, and collaboration. For thousands of years, the Musqueam, Squamish, and TTsleil-Wautuths hunted, fished, and gathered along the shores of False Creek. Then industrial development transformed the shoreline and polluted its waters. While much has changed over the past several decades, False Creek remains one of Vancouver's most visible reminders that restoring an ecosystem is far more difficult than degrading one. The issue is personal to me. For 10 years, I paddled on a dragon boat team that launched from the docks beside Science World. During that time, I experienced reoccurring skin rashes, eye infections, and the occasional gastrointestinal illness while spending countless hours on False Creek. In the summer, the smell could be overwhelming, and there would be even days when practices had to be canceled because of water quality concerns. Water quality struggles with high E. coli chemical contamination due to combined sewer outflows during heavy rainfall, illegal boats, sewage dumping, and stormwater runoff. Despite these challenges, I've also seen what restoration can look like. The naturalized shoreline of Olympic Village, with its native trees, shrubs, wetland plants, and Habitat Island, demonstrates how thoughtful ecological design can create wildlife habitat and reconnect people with nature. I have fond memories of scrambling over the rocks and exploring Habitat Island with my son when he was a toddler. Those projects demonstrate what is possible when the city invests in ecological restoration, but the city cannot do this work alone. As the executive director of a stewardship organization, I know that lasting environmental restoration depends on partnerships. I've had the opportunity to meet with Mendel Skulski, who just spoke earlier, and David Greig of False Creek Friends, whose passion and knowledge of the ecosystem are inspiring. Their work demonstrates the invaluable role community stewardship groups can play. We must also strengthen collaboration with Musqueam, Squamish and TTsleil-Waututh Nations. The TTsleil-Waututh Nations Stewardship Department is leading extensive ecological restoration and monitoring throughout its territory. including efforts to restore burrard inlet in the indian river watershed so that the traditional harvesting can one day return as council considers the future of false creek we have an opportunity to build genuine partnerships that combine indigenous knowledge community stewardship and government action today's stewardship of false creek is fragmented across more than 20 government agencies and jurisdictions no single organization is responsible for the health of the entire inlet if we are serious about restoring false creek we need a coordinated approach i encourage council to support this motion and establish an inter-jurisdictional working group to improve coordination strengthen stewardship partnerships and build a healthier more resilient false creek for future generations thank you thank you thanks chris okay speaker number four is ryan hunt

Statement Watch

Good evening. Yes, I'm Brenda Lotzkar, and thank you to Mayor and Council for hearing us tonight. I received your letter today letting me know that government is working on this issue. I have to tell you I'm actually coming at this from... a resident here in Vancouver living on False Creek, and I can tell you, living here just shy of 11 years, nothing has changed, except prior to FIFA. As I stated in my letter, VPD and RCMP boats manned and sat on the west side of Canby Bridge the entire time during FIFA, not allowing any boat that wasn't moored in False Creek to enter, other than continuous VPD, RCMP, and Coast Guard traffic. Not four days after the guards left, there was a jet ski towing these derelict boats back in. The City of Vancouver website states, boaters need to get a permit to anchor False Creek when they are anchoring for more than eight hours during the day, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., or anchoring any time between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. the following day. The City of Vancouver website states it is illegal to dump untreated sewage in Vancouver's surrounding waters. They never leave. In the summer is the only time pump boats come through the creek, and they come through in 10 minutes. No pumping of gray or black water is occurring in that amount of time. The permit... Again, the permit will allow boaters to anchor a maximum of 14 full or part-time days of 30 days during high season, April 1st to September 30th, and 21 days of 40 days in low season, October 1st to March 31st. The only time these boats have moved in almost 11 years is for FIFA, with VPD and RCMP guarding the waters. They are shuffled around during Dragon Boat Festival in June. Other than that, they are permanent fixtures. Falls Creek is continuously used by stand-up paddleboarders, kayaks, tiki tour operators, barbecue boats, pirate tour boats. That means they are all navigating in sewage. The water exchange at low tide and high tide is not effective. There is nowhere for the water to go, as you can see closer to the mouth of English Van Third Beach. Pulse Creek is unique on how it ends. The derelict boats stay until they sink in bad weather. Then the remaining fluid, oil, and tanks leak into the creek, along with all the piled high debris floats that have to be cleaned up. Often booms have to be put around to contain the mess until such time someone, comes and refloats and drags the mess out. This happens several times a year. We pay taxes. The VPD boats come and patrol and do a look around and leave. We then pay more taxes for the cleanup and the removal once they sink. Thanks, Brenda.

Statement Watch

Thank you, and good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Brent Page. I'm speaking in favor of this motion. I live in Vancouver in Yaletown. And False Creek is my backyard. I live on the waterfront, walk the seawall daily, hold an annual aqua bus pass, and kayak year-round with Creekside Passing Centre. For 14 years, I have seen this waterway from every possible angle, every single day. Right now, the heart of our city's waterfront is trapped in regulatory deadlock. Let's be honest. Governments created this mess. By splitting responsibility across some 22 municipal, provincial, and federal bodies, our institutions built a bureaucratic maze. And when everyone is responsible, nobody is. But government also exists to solve big problems. And this is a massive, multilayered one. Falls Creek defines Vancouver, its waterfront identity, its public life, even how we showcase ourselves to the world. Overlapping jurisdictions cannot remain an excuse for inaction. It's time for the city to step up and get the ball rolling. As a year-round kayaker, I see the consequences up close. Derelict, unlivable, unseaworthy boats, most loaded with junk and trash, and usually with a half-submerged dinghy. Despite anchoring permits, the same vessels remain for years. Several have sunk right offshore from my condo. This is a direct threat to public safety and the environment. Unmanaged anchoring stirs toxic sediment. Unmonitored vessels pollute our waters. I have even been warned by paddling staff to steer clear of specific derelict boats because of unsafe, hostile behavior of their owners. This jurisdictional vacuum is not a quirk. It is actively harming our shared waters. This motion is Council's opportunity to lead. It is not a top-down solution. It starts the collaboration needed to fix this. It directs staff to work with senior governments and, crucially, the Musqueam, Squamish, and TTsleil-Waututh Nations. A co-government framework can create a unified False Creek Harbor Authority rooted in Indigenous stewardship and true reconciliation. The requested Q3-27 report will give Council a roadmap to consolidate Seabed 10 Governments created this bottleneck, but the city can kickstart the cure. Let's stop passing the buck and commit to taking responsibility for the waterway that defines us. And in doing so, acknowledge commitment is not a word. It is an action. I strongly urge council to pass this motion unanimously, and I sincerely thank you for your time.

Statement Watch

I was going to speak against the motion, but I found Councillor Orr and Mendel's speech quite compelling, so I've changed my tack, and I'm going to speak in favor of it. I've been banging the drum for Falls Creek to have a harbormaster for years. My name is Steven Paco. I have a company called Spookum Yacht Services. My brother and I repair boats in the Granville Island Boatyard. We've been doing it for 20 years. I'm a commercial diver. My dive crew and I have logged about 200 to 300 hours a year diving in Falls Creek for 20 years. There's no human alive who spent more time in that water than I have. And if you can prove it, I have good dive logs. If you can prove it, I'd eat my wetsuit. We run the free mobile pump-out service for the city of Vancouver. We installed the navigation channel markers for the city. We maintain them. And in the last five years since the beginning of the pandemic, we've removed just a little over 100 derelict, abandoned, and sunken vessels on behalf of the city. You, we have a contract with you, but mostly for Transport Canada and the Coast Guard. I really like working for the city of Vancouver. You're a great customer. Unlike most of our boating customers, we have hundreds of boating customers in Falls Creek. They all have about 17 or 18 cents for every dollar their boat needs. The people for whom we work at the city, the engineers and the cops and the parks people, they just want good things to happen. So it's quite refreshing. You know, I'm in a world of bloody knuckles capitalism every day. Somebody wants to eat my lunch every day. It's really refreshing to work for people who give a damn, frankly, and it's nice. But I got to tell you, they don't always know what they're doing. In fact, they rarely do because most of them are engaged in other city activities, land-based activities for departments that have no maritime expertise or culture or direction, right? And I will tell you things that... It sounds like I'm being a little harsh, but I'm going to tell you things that... Your employees have told me, right? We're all just running Falls Creek off the side of our desks. I get that a lot, right? Because these are engineers who are in streets or in contaminated sites. And they've been tasked with overseeing matters about which they don't know very much. The cops will tell you the same thing. Someone at Parks told me many years ago that this is the only urban waterway in Canada that doesn't have a harbormaster. Somebody with a maritime background who understands the sort of whole picture, knows the rules that they are to enforce, understands the people and the watercraft, everything from 100-foot mega yachts with staff to the derelict boats everyone's mentioned to all of the human-powered craft in Falls Creek. Talking to all of these departments with whom we work and for whom we work, it's quite clear that the city's probably wasting a fair bit of time and money. tasking people to enforce rules they don't know. And they're often at cross purposes with one another. So I am speaking in favor of the motion because I think the whole place really needs coordinated management. I think that's my three minutes. Thank you, Stephen.

Statement Watch

Hi, Mayor Sim, council members. My name's Chris Arnold. I think we just got introduced. I'm here speaking on behalf of... Greater Vancouver Floating Home Co-op, housed at Spruce Harbour Marina. We are the only member-owned residence floating housing in False Creek. And as people who live on the water every day, I think we have a pretty good experience of the immediate way that False Creek operates. Every vessel in our marina is connected to communal sewer system that discharges into the city's sewer network, ensuring that no human waste enters Falls Creek. We actively support environmental initiatives, including heron spawning projects, oyster restoration programs, to ensure that we have a net environmental positive impact. Our marina is also home to otters, annual birthing grounds for seal pups, countless starfish and crabs, and a residence for our local heron, Henry. Wildlife is returning, reminding us that False Creek is not just an urban waterway, but is also a living ecosystem. False Creek is one of the defining public spaces. It is our home to thousands of residents, a destination for visitors around the world, and a place where people kayak, paddleboard, row, sail, dragon boat, commute by ferry, walk the seawall, and simply enjoy being beside the water. Few cities are fortunate enough to have such a vibrant recreational waterfront so close to our city center. Yet, despite its importance, False Creek has no single organization responsible for coordinating the long-term management. As False Creek Friends has identified, two of the most significant challenges are the untreated urban runoff and the unmanaged, often derelict vessels. The issue is not the people living on the boats. Many of us do so responsibility. The issue is the vessels that lack oversight, are poorly maintained and have no safe place to moor. Unlike many coastal communities of British Columbia, False Creek offers very limited transit moorage and also no legitimate alternatives to anchoring. Several years ago, volunteers from Blue Water Cruising Association, including members of our co-op, installed mooring boys. Sorry. Mooring buoys to provide a safer alternative. Unfortunately, without legal backing, removing these irresponsible boats, the program failed. The consequences are visible. Routine oil slicks from anchor vessels and waste in the water. I have personally removed plastic barrels, bags of rubbish, and even an entire two-person tent filled with a ton of marine waste. incompatible material. We also see vessels dragging anchor during storms and high tides, damaging public infrastructure, marine facilities, and neighboring boats. These situations affect everyone, not just those of us who live on the water. They create hazards for all Falls Creek users. They diminish the experience of visitors walking the seawall and undermine the image of one of Vancouver's most iconic public spaces. When these incidents occur, we call the Coast Guard, the city, and Vancouver Police. Although each agency wants to help, it's passed off as it's not their legal responsibility. Too often, action cannot be taken until someone is either in danger or an environmental disaster has already occurred. Many leading waterfront cities, including Paris, Copenhagen, Berlin, New York, Portland, and our own Ottawa and Toronto, have demonstrated coordinated governance that can transform these urban waterways into cleaner, safer, more vibrant public spaces. Vancouver has the opportunity to do the same. We support False Creek Friends' proposal to establish an organization with long-term oversight over False Creek, bringing together residents, indigenous nations, marinas, environmental organizations, recreational users, businesses, government agencies around the table. Such an organization would not replace existing authorities. Instead, it would... improve communication, coordinate action, identify emergency issues before they become crises, develop safe, regulated moorage, support environmental restoration, ensure that many groups who care deeply about Falls Creek are working together towards a common vision. As stakeholders ourselves, with adequate tools, we are ready to work with the city and assist in such programs. Our previous experience, community-led Mooring Boys, taught us an important lesson. Good ideas are not enough without lasting institutional support. This organization is to succeed. It must have full backing in the city and relevant agencies. Thank you very much for your time. Hello? Hi, sorry. Yeah, is this for speaker nine? Hello, is this for speaker number nine to go ahead?

Statement Watch

My name is Kate. Sorry, Kayleen, just give us a second. I need to get everyone back to the Council Chamber.

Oh, I apologize. Thank you.

Yeah, just hold on.

One more.

Okay. Counselor online, can you turn on your video so we'll have call? Counselor Bly, can you turn on your video? There we go. Perfect. All right, let's continue. Speaker number nine, sorry for the technical challenge. So now I think everything's fine. Speaker number nine is Caitlin Stockwell.

Hi, good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Caitlin Stockwell. I'm a Vancouver resident, an environmental advocate, and an open water swimmer who is heavily invested in efforts to clean up Vancouver's waterways. I'm speaking in support of this motion. Falls Creek is one of the most iconic parts of our city. In any picture of Vancouver, you'll likely see it featured. It was also once a key fishing area for muskwim, Squamish, and slaver tooth, as well as for shellfish harvesting. However, despite this area's importance and the amount of civic life that is built around this space, from our Sea Wolf, Science Wolf, Granville Island, Habitat Island, to recent FIFA events, there is no coordinated plan in place for water quality management and environmental protection. The management of False Creek currently looks like that Spider-Man meme with each level of government pointing fingers at each other regarding who is responsible for different aspects of navigation, removal of derelict boats, enforcement of sewage tank emptying from boats, and environmental monitoring. This makes it much harder to address water quality, habitat restoration, derelict vessels, climate resilience, and public safety in a coordinated way. These waterways and Vancouverites deserve better. This motion is an opportunity for the city to take leadership on establishing a coordinated stewardship model for False Creek and to explore working with Squamish, Musqueam and TTsleil-Waututh Nations, the province and federal agencies to establish a single harbor authority with a clear mandate for proactively caring for the health of False Creek and responding to risks and hazards. While I appreciate the swimmability of Falls Creek as a longer-term goal, coordinating cleanup and management efforts and clearly establishing who will be responding to which issues and when, for example, through a single harbor authority, is an important start for improving water quality, improving ecological health, and supporting climate adaptation efforts. This in turn will have benefits for the health of current recreation users on Gulf Creek, such as paddleboarders, dragon boaters, other paddlers that currently come in close contact with the water, and support the health of marine life, such as the recently returned herring populations. In Canada, responsible water stewardship has returned swimability to Victoria's Gorge Waterway, 8 of 11 beaches in Toronto Harbour, the Rideau River and Dow's Lake in Ottawa, and the Halifax Harbour. There is precedent for cities taking the lead in ecological health and recreational access for urban waterways, and the City of Vancouver should join this charge. It would be great to see the level of coordination proposed by this motion in place in time to help implement recommendations coming back from the current study underway by the Metro Vancouver Regional District, the City, Falls Creek Friends Society and Raincoast that is looking at water quality conditions in Falls Creek and making recommendations on ways to improve water quality for fish, wildlife and people. And I understand recommendations on that are coming back in 2027. I ask City Council to support this motion and take steps today that will increase future recreation accessibility of the Falls Creek Waterway, support collaboration with host nations to support the stewardship of these waters, and care for Falls Creek as a beloved urban waterway. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Great, thank you. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. My name is Matthew. I'm a Vancouver resident and I'm speaking today in support of Councillor Orr's motion to establish a unified stewardship model for Falls Creek. I love Falls Creek. It's one of my favorite parts of the city. It somehow manages to be both vibrant and bustling and quiet and peaceful. I live right here under the shadow of City Hall and in the summers I like to ride my bike down Yukon Street to the seawall to the boats and the marina and people watch from the benches. If you bike down Charleston and onto Lamy Mills Road, you get a beautiful and quiet ride with a large tree canopy on one side and Charleston Park and the nice housing co-ops on the other. For those in this room that cycle, I really recommend you check it out. It's lovely. You see all sorts of folks walking along the seawall or visiting local businesses or picking up their kids from Falls Creek Elementary. This is community. I also know that the sewage issues around Science World mean that on a hot day, It is pretty unbearable to be around for long. During the World Cup, the Science World Soccer Ball has been a central part of the city's visible tourism strategy, and I wonder how many tourists have walked by and marveled at it, only to have that moment tainted by the smell of stagnant sewage. We're seeing across the globe multiple simultaneous, never-before-seen heat waves. Climate change is accelerating rapidly. We're set to have the hottest summer on record, and next year won't be any different. This problem is only going to get worse, and habitat degradation will only increase. Sea level rise threatens our vital seawall infrastructure across our city, and specifically within Falls Creek. We simply must address the fragmentation of Falls Creek governance that has led to these issues. Councillor Orr's motion also calls for exploring a co-governance framework developed in partnership with the Musqueam, Squamish, and TTsleil-Waututh nations. If we wish to claim that we are a city of reconciliation, as I hope we all do, we need to back that up with more than words. We need to lean on those nations who have stewarded and cared for these lands. Supporting this motion means supporting real reconciliation, it means strengthening climate resilience, and it means building up a truly vibrant tourism and cultural asset within Vancouver for all to enjoy for decades to come. Thanks for your time.

Statement Watch

Hello, and thank you for the opportunity to speak to this motion. My name is Shannon Otruba, and I am a resident of Vancouver and a staff lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law. I'm speaking today in support of this motion. I'm standing to support this motion because Falls Creek is a center of the social, environmental, and economic health of Vancouver, and its fragmented management has led to significant environmental and public safety concerns falling through the cracks between governments. Fortunately, the city of Vancouver is well positioned to initiate a process to move towards better governance and stewardship of Falls Creek. As with many coastal water bodies in British Columbia, Falls Creek is a place of overlapping jurisdiction in which the city, the province, the federal government, and the governments of the Musqueam, Squamish, and TTsleil-Waututh Nations all have responsibilities to steward this important aspect of Vancouver's identity. For instance, in Falls Creek, the federal government regulates navigational safety, the province regulates water quality, the city regulates land use planning and zoning, and these authorities are subject to the rights and title of the Musqueam, Squamish, and TTsleil-Waututh nations. These shared responsibilities demonstrate that all governments need to play a role in the stewardship of Falls Creek. It is also important to note that the province passed its first-ever coastal marine strategy, which identifies the need to collaborate with Indigenous, federal, and local governments to achieve the strategy's objectives, including shoreline restoration and addressing derelict vessels. If the stewardship of Falls Creek is to evolve to meet its potential, these governments must effectively collaborate, not pass the buck to each other. And the city of Vancouver, as a government located within and adjacent to Falls Creek, is well positioned to lead on this front. Of course, doing so will require closely collaborating with the Indigenous and other governments with jurisdiction in Falls Creek. But thankfully, there are examples of these sorts of collaborations happening elsewhere in British Columbia that demonstrate how effective it can be. For instance, the city of Victoria stepped up to improve the conditions of the Gorge Waterway in Victoria on the Kwangan and WSANISH territory. Despite the complexities of bringing together multiple governments to establish new and enhanced governance structures, the project put forward by this motion presents an opportunity for the city to provide benefit to all of us living in and around Falls Creek. This is a way forward that could leave a thriving waterway for the generations to come. a legacy that is legally achievable and socially and economically desirable. For these reasons, I support this motion. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Statement Watch

Chair and councillors. My name is David Greig, and I'm a resident of Kitsilano for some 30-odd years, I guess. Okay, so I don't intend to go through the problems. I think that's quite clear. Most people are aware of the problems. But this is a pivotal moment in time, particularly given the attention during the FIFA World Cup celebrations. But... Governance is the key. It's the key to managing the inlet for all users, whether they be in a luxury yacht or wish to swim. Governance could lead to the inlet reaching a status, a higher status than it is now, a status such as an urban marine park. It would be the first in North America. That's in the near term. In the longer term, it could provide the basis for an ecological nursery for future aquatic life in English Bay. It's not too difficult to imagine that that may become a United Nations or UNESCO biosphere. Now, this is reaching, but how sound is already a UNESCO biosphere? as is Mount Arrowsmith by Parksville on Vancouver Island is also a UNESCO biosphere. And we have our neighbors in Washington State, Olympic Park, is another UNESCO biosphere. So we can imagine where we might be going with this. And in fact, given the number of UNESCO biospheres that could be, the Holden Salish Sea could become one of the world's largest UNESCO biospheres. And of course, the importance of that is given the extra traffic that comes through marine, oil terminals and LNG and so on and so forth. It's important for us to start the process off here in Vancouver. As a retired engineer and urban planner, I know that every significant placemaking plan starts with a dream. Approval of this motion will give a kickstart to potential restoration of the inlet and beyond into the Salish Sea.

Statement Watch

Hello. Thank you for this opportunity to talk about this topic. I'm a resident in one of the condominiums that are on Falls Creek, so I'm just speaking as a resident, a person that lives in the creek, sees what's going on there every day. As a resident, we're often frustrated because we can't figure out what to do when we see a boat start to sink. They don't often sink quickly. Sometimes they just start to go. And then later on, we see them retrieving the boat when it's already sunk. We call the Coast Guard. We've called the RCMP. We call the Vancouver Police. We keep getting shoved over from one jurisdiction to another. As a resident, it would be wonderful to have a central agency that we can communicate with when we have also loud disturbances on the creek or when we see these kind of environmental disasters happening when the oil starts to spill and the colors happen on the surface of the water. In my frustration, when I found out about the Falls Creek Friends Society, I was suddenly relieved to know that there was something we could do. And I think that's part of what we're doing here right now. And I feel really happy that we have a chance to speak to you about this and that we can address this situation. I would like to extend my appreciation for Zeta Schneider and Mendel Stusky for all the work they've done, and it's really a wonderful vision that people have for the Greek, and I'm 100% behind it. I want my grandson to be able to put his hands in Falls Creek someday. And for that, I would ask that you find a way to make a central authority over top of this creek so that we can have an actual human being that knows about marine law and about the laws for the creek and enforced. Because currently, Falls Creek is about the most lawless place in Vancouver, I would say, except maybe the Home Depot parking lot. So how do we pay for this? I would say we should do moorage fees. We have to pay for parking at Spanish banks. What's wrong with merge fees? We could do some income from the marinas could be diverted to having some preservation and protection for the creek. The marinas make millions of dollars, and I don't think that much money goes back into just for the staff, but otherwise there's not much done for Falls Creek from that income. That's city income that could be diverted to this. And, of course, the federal government and the provincial government should contribute as well. Then we also have the cost benefits of not having to have sunken boats that we have to retrieve all the time, even though Stephen does a terrific job of it. And then there's the kind of cost benefit of not having the environmental... spillage and the disaster of all that stuff that goes into the water. I mean, right now, the benthic environment, which is the ocean floor, is the responsibility of the province. But it crusts over. It's just a garbage dump, essentially, Falls Creek is. But it's crusted over. And so the anchors dragging is what's causing it to break up. So I would like to see a proper stewardship of Falls Creek, and I would love to see it be a place where we could have our children put their hands in the water and look at sea life. That would be fantastic. Thank you so much.