Kits Coast Guard Station to close
Posted May 17, 2012 1:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Lives will be put at risk. That’s the warning from the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, as the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station is set to be shut down.
The federally-run Coast Guard Station will likely be closed by the end of the summer, says Shop Steward Gerry Moores. Then, Vancouver’s only coast guard station will be at Sea Island at YVR.
“When you cut 50 per cent of the capacity to respond to search and rescue calls, obviously that’s something that’s going to be felt particularly in response times.”
Moores fears that will double response times, to half an hour or more after a distress call, putting lives at risk.
“The water temperatures we have here, virtually all year round, if somebody becomes immersed in the water, they don’t have a lot of time as they bob around until the effects of hypothermia set it,” he says.
The station serves Vancouver’s harbours as well as Howe Sound, Indian Arm and the Gulf Islands.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans defends the decision because the Sea Island and Kitsilano bases are only 17 nautical miles apart, meaning their service areas over lap.
In an e-mail, News1130 has been told search and rescue service will remain the same and will be consistent with other major ports.
The Feds also claim BC has more lifeboat stations than any other province.
Vancouver’s boating community is also questioning this closure because it serves such a high traffic area.
Eardley Beaton with the Vancouver Power and Sail Squadron says accidents happen all the time on the water.
He says some are life and death situations that require immediate response. “If somebody falls overboard, or they’re alone, or somebody can see them and call the Coast Guard to get help to them, it may be too late by the time they get there.”
He says many boaters like himself will feel less safe on the water knowing help won’t be nearby.
