A coastal Member of Parliament is calling on the Federal government to free up funds to help volunteers clean up marine debris.
Courtenay- Alberni NDP MP Gord Johns says the government received money to help with a clean-up after a cargo ship lost 35 containers in rough seas back in November.
He says that money is sitting in a government account, rather than being distributed to volunteers.
Johns notes marine debris has a harsh impact on our sensitive ecosystems.
Johns says Canada also need a process in place to collect money to be put aside into clean-up funds so that when incidents happen there are funds available to help support clean-up efforts on the coast.