Despite heavy criticism from the B.C. premier and Vancouver mayor, Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford is standing by the federal government's handling of an oil spill along Vancouver’s picturesque English Bay last week.

Speaking to CTV's Question Period, Rickford defended his government's response to the oil spill from the Greek grain carrier Marathassa in Vancouver’s English Bay last Wednesday. After an estimated 3,000 litres of bunker fuel spilled into the water, the Coast Guard estimated 80 per cent has been recovered.

"The incident with Marathassa reminds us there needs to be an effective coordinate response between all levels of governments and their respective agencies," said Rickford. "The efforts are well in hand in terms of cleanup."

On Friday, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson characterized the provincial and federal response to the spill as a "lack of leadership."

In her remarks Friday, B.C. Premier Christy Clark said the federal government is responsible for most of the cleanup, and called on the feds to improve response plans after she said it took the Coast Guard six hours to get spill containment booms in place. Under the federal environmental response program, the Canadian Coast Guard is responsible for ensuring cleanup of oil spills in Canadian waters.

"It is totally unacceptable that we don't have the spill response that we require here. The federal government needs to step up and make that plan," said Clark.

Rickford said there will be will be an opportunity to eventually debrief, but that the focus should be on cleanup for the time being.

"I don't think at this particular junction we'll engage in speculation or remarks that, at least for now, should be focused squarely on the efforts to assure Canadians and assure British Columbians that the cleanup exercise is well in hand," said Rickford.

The minister maintained that Canada's safety regimes for resource transportation via marine, rail and pipeline are "world-leading" and that those responsible for spills on Canadian soil and marine space will be held accountable.

Kitsilano base closure

Last week, Coast Guard Asst. Commissioner Roger Girouard rejected arguments that the Kitsilano Coast Guard station, which closed in February 2013 following budget cuts by the federal Conservative government, could have improved the spill response.

“Kits base would not have made an iota of difference,” he said, highlighting that the station only oversaw search and rescue, not environmental response.

In the meantime, the City of Vancouver is urging people to stay away from the water and shoreline. But that hasn't stopped some residents who want to help with the cleanup.

Opposition criticism

The NDP has called on the government to re-open the Kitsilano base since 2012, when the Conservatives announced the intended Coast Guard cuts. The NDP says the cuts have put Canada's coasts at risk.

“The Conservatives’ broad cuts to the Canadian Coast Guard, including the Kitsilano base here in Vancouver, and its Marine Communication and Traffic Centres across the country have only set the stage for an unthinkable disaster," said NDP Fisheries and Oceans deputy critic Fin Donnelly said in a statement Friday.

In a tweet Friday, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said that, if elected, he would reopen a full-service Coast Guard station in Vancouver and invest in marine and oil spill response capacity on the B.C. coast.

With files from CTV Vancouver