May 7th -- that's today (Monday) -- is the deadline for owners of derelict boats and unauthorized docks to be out of the Gorge waterway.
The City of Victoria went to the BC Supreme Court looking for an injunction to get the vessels moved, and the court ruled in the city's favour.
As of late today the numbers of boats had been reduced to 14 -- down from over 30 back in 2016 when the city first started the process.
City Clerk Chris Coates says a few of the remaining boats have been signed over to the city, so they can now be removed.
He tells us what the next steps will be for stragglers:
"Our staff will go and take an inventory of the vessels that remain. You know I think ultimately the city is still expecting compliance from all the owners to move their vessels out themselves. But if that doesn't occur the next steps involve essentially taking a report back to council, and looking for authorization to go back to court, and look for potentially an an enforcement order which would enable the ciuty to remove the vessels."
Coates says it's important to note more than half the vessel owners have elected to move on, and in one case Pacific Housing helped a resident find a place on land for himself and his dog.