The City of Victoria’s bid for an injunction to remove 17 boats and four docks from a portion of the Gorge Waterway continues this afternoon.

A B.C. Supreme Court hearing has been held for the past two days with Justice Peter Voith.

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City lawyer Tom Zworski has said that a municipal bylaw governs the issue, while boat owners say it is a federal matter. A 2016 city bylaw covering the Gorge says boat owners are limited to 48 hours moored in one spot, and a maximum of 72 hours in one spot over 30 days.

Retired lawyer Brian O’Reilly, acting for boat owner and liveaboard Barry Zimmerman, said the city haq yet to establish the legal authority to regulate navigable waters.

He said that navigation and shipping are federal matters.

O’Reilly added on Thursday that the city has not proven its case against Zimmerman and has merely submitted pictures of his boat showing only that it was in one place at a certain time on a certain day.

They do not show the 48-hour or 72-hour time restrictions were violated, O’Reilly said.

Richard Patterson, also a liveaboard boat owner, said the case involving the stretch of water is “an ongoing process” that should consider overall use. Canoeists and rowers go through the area often, he said. “There is plenty of room for everyone.”

Zimmerman told the court that he fell in love with the Gorge the first day he woke up there in his boat. “I knew in my heart that it was home.”

Even though some people have said they are troubled about the use of toilets on the boats, Patterson said that testing done in the area shows it is not an issue.

Owners also say that their presence does not harm the sensitive eel-grass habitat in the Gorge.

Keith Rosene, who has a boat in the area and lives nearby, said he and others are making an effort to be part of the solution.

“We are all trying to be responsible and deal with the city’s concerns.”

jwbell@timescolonist.com