Tom Puglas, 76, says he had just spent thousands of dollars on parts to fix the engine of his aging, second-hand fishing boat when he received a phone call from a friend in the fall of 2017 telling him his boat was gone from the harbour.

He later learned through a friend, he said, that his boat and all the equipment on it had been destroyed by the Canadian Coast Guard — and he was sent an $8,500 bill to cover the cost.

“I