Abandoned Boats Program – Assessments & removals applicant’s guide

From: Transport Canada

Transport Canada’s Abandoned Boats Program (ABP) – Assessment and Removals (A&R) component provides federal funding, in the form of grants, to assist in the assessment, removal and disposal of abandoned and/or wrecked small boats that pose a hazard in Canadian waters.

1. Program description

The ABP-A&R provides funding to support eligible recipients to conduct boat assessments for removals and to permanently remove and dispose abandoned and/or wrecked small boats from Canadian waterways that are not eligible under other federal funding programs.

The objective of the program is to:

reduce the number of abandoned and/or wrecked boats in Canadian waterways and the hazards they pose
contribute to the protection and preservation of the marine environment
reduce the impacts of these boats on Canadian coastal communities
enhance economic opportunities
increase awareness of the boat owners’ responsibilities

2. Eligible recipients

Eligible recipients include:

provinces, territories, municipalities and local governments
Indigenous groups, communities and organizations
private ports or marinas*
Canadian Port Authorities
for-profit organizations and not-for-profit organizations

*Abandoned and/or wrecked boats in a federally owned small craft harbour are not eligible for funding under this program. Please contact the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

3. Available funding

Recipients who are eligible will be reimbursed up to 100% of eligible expenditures through a grant.

The maximum grant per assessment of a boat is $5,000.

The maximum grant per boat removal and disposal is $50,000.

*Please note that bundling of projects in an area is permitted in one application up to a maximum of $250,000 for the entire project.

*in extraordinary circumstances, the maximum funding allotment may be increased on a case-by-case basis, where funds are available. Please contact: tc.abp-pba.tc@tc.gc.ca if this is the case.

4. Eligibility assessment criteria

4.1 Assessment and removal of small boats

The applicants must:

demonstrate that the boat appears to be abandoned and/or wrecked in Canadian waters, as follows:
- An abandoned boat – Abandonment requires that the owner be unknown and the location/condition of the boat indicate that it has been intentionally abandoned, or if the owner is known, they have in fact intentionally abandoned the vessel with no plans to return to it
- A wrecked boat – A boat appears to be sunken, stranded, beached, partially submerged, dismantled and abandoned
describe the specific boat(s) to be assessed, including boat(s) location and condition
indicate if the boat has resulted in, or is reasonably expected to result in, harmful consequences to the environment, human health and safety, local economies, or damage to the coastline or related interests (e.g., shore and underwater infrastructure)
be authorized to assess the boat(s) and provide supporting documentation*
provide an estimate of the costs for the assessment phase
Once the assessment step is approved and before the removal, provide an estimate of the costs for the removal phase and demonstrate that the boat has been assessed to the satisfaction of Transport Canada, to address the following requirements:

The boat assessment for removal will need to consider:

general risks posed by the boat
environmental effects
risks associated with removal, e.g. safety, environmental
heritage and/or military significance of the boat
recycling value of the boat, if applicable
estimated removal costs and requirements, including a mitigation strategy to address the risk

Boats involved in a legal dispute with a private or public party may not be eligible for funding.

*The applicant will need to be authorized to assess the boat. However, if the applicant cannot obtain the authority from other sources, Transport Canada has developed a separate process to support this requirement. For further information, see the Transport Canada Navigation Protection Program.

Boats that are not eligible for funding include:

military boats
heritage boats

5. Eligible expenditures

Eligible expenditures include:

staff salaries and benefits
professional services (e.g., accounting, audit, consulting and labourers)
assessments and removals (e.g., of environmental effects, heritage significance, boat removal costs and requirements, removal hazards)
purchase and lease of assets, technology, equipment, systems and supplies
room rentals and other facility costs, including storage costs for a boat up to a period of 3 months, or as agreed upon with Transport Canada
translation costs
administrative expenditures for up to 15% of total project costs (including general administration, expenditures, rent, insurance, office equipment rental and membership fees)
travel expenditures (including the cost of accommodations, vehicle rental and kilometric rates, bus, train, airplane or taxi fares, allowances for meals and incidentals)
- Note: Travel and per diem expenses cannot be more than the rates and allowances determined in the Travel Directive of the National Joint Council
other costs that are, in our opinion, considered to be direct, reasonable and incremental for the successful implementation of the project and have been approved in writing, prior to being incurred

Eligible expenditures can be either cash or cash-equivalent in-kind contributions. These expenditures may be reimbursed so long as the following three criteria are met:

The associated costs are deemed to be eligible expenditures and have been approved by Transport Canada
The associated costs are not a donation received from a third party
The associated costs are related to goods, services or other support that would otherwise be purchased and paid for by the applicant as essential for the project

Note: In-kind contributions received from a third party are considered donations and may form part of the total eligible expenditures of the project but are not reimbursable.

5.1 Eligible project duration and approvals

Assessment of removal projects of small boats – Project(s) may begin upon our written approval
Removal and disposal for small boats – Project(s) may begin upon our written approval once the assessment has been provided.

6. Ineligible expenditures

Certain expenditures are not eligible for funding and therefore will not be considered in the calculation of the total eligible expenditures of the proposed project, including:

costs incurred before the funding approval date
expenditures for provincial sales tax and goods for services tax (GST), or the harmonized sales tax (HST), where applicable, for which the recipient is eligible for a rebate, or any other costs eligible for rebates
purchase of land and/or buildings, related real estate fees and vehicles
financing charges and interest payments on loans
expenditures that have been reimbursed from other sources of funding, federal statutes or funding programs

7. Merit selection criteria

We will evaluate small boat removal assessment applications and small boat removal project proposals to determine if they meet the mandatory eligibility assessment criteria (see Section 4 for additional details).

Other criteria

Priority may be given to:

applications from provincial/territorial governments, for boats in or on provincially/territorially-owned water beds
applications from Indigenous organizations
applications including multiple boats
boats posing greater risks to human health and safety, the marine environment and marine organisms

Other considerations may include:

the length of time a boat has been in that location or condition
risk of boat sinking
regional balance
ability of the applicant to leverage cash or in-kind support from non-federal sources and minimize the share of federal government funding

8. Notification

After we have evaluated a project proposal, we will inform the applicant if they have been selected for funding or not. We reserve the right to accept or reject any project proposal.

9. Service standards

In an effort to continually improve service and conduct a transparent process, we have established the following service standards:

Our goal is to provide applicants with written acknowledgement of receipt of their application and/or project proposal within 10 business days of the application deadline date
Our goal is to issue payments within 20 business days following the notification to the recipient that their application has been approved.

Note: If the program cannot meet the above standards, we will advise recipients in a timely manner.

10. Funding agreements

10.1 Agreement for funded activities

The application package and notification of funding approval once completed and signed, where applicable, constitutes the funding agreement between Transport Canada and the recipient.

10.1.1 Notification of funding approval for eligible activities

Eligible applicants will receive a written notification of funding approval. This email notification will indicate when the eligible expenditures can be incurred under the program and next steps.

10.1.2 Reimbursement

Reimbursements will be made to the applicant organization as lump sum payments (assessment & removal separately). Funding is conditional on the availability of funding under the Program.

10.1.3 Reporting requirements

Along with the letter of approval, an attestation form will be sent to all recipients. Once the funded activities have taken place, recipients are required to complete and sign the form to confirm that the funding was used for its intended purposes. The form needs to be completed and returned no later than 30 days after the activities have been completed.

Note that if the signed attestation form is not submitted, TC reserves the right to request that the funding be returned

11. How to apply

An application form must be used to complete a funding application. The form must be sent to the following email: tc.abp-pba.tc@tc.gc.ca

One funding application can be completed for both the assessment and removal activities.

The application period for assessment and removal projects is open until June 15, 2023.

Note: All applications and project proposals must be signed, complete, accurate and presented using the templates provided. All eligible applicants must provide legal documentation confirming their organization is a legal entity (i.e., letters of patent, certificate of incorporation or other such legal documents). Missing or incomplete information will slow the processing of the application and may result in its rejection.

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