North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney took her first opportunity in the House of Commons to push the government to keep its promise on Comox’s coast guard communications station.
The previous federal government announced in 2013 that three of five Canadian Coast Guard marine communication traffic service centres on the BC coast would close, in addition to Vancouver’s coast guard rescue station at Kitsilano.
“The marine communication centre in Comox is slated to close and the Liberal government needs to step up and stop the closure,” stated Blaney in her parliamentary address on December 9. “These centres play a critical role in keeping mariners safe on the water. They are the eyes and ears on the water. We can’t afford to have this centre closed.”
Communication station closures at Tofino-Ucluelet, Vancouver and Comox were part of a plan to streamline marine communications to Victoria and Prince Rupert and upgrade the communications system. The upgrades made it possible to monitor all south coast traffic from the Victoria station.
Blaney said by reducing the number of stations and streamlining communications, the government is increasing risk for mariners. An outage in Victoria could leave the whole south coast without communications capabilities.
“We need to make sure that we have communications that are clear and that we’re not going to lose them during a potentially hard time,” said Blaney.
Blaney said the Comox station should stay open because its location on the eastern side of Vancouver Island protects it from a Pacific Ocean tsunami, a potential danger for other stations, including Victoria.
She added consolidation of communication stations discounts the valuable knowledge local sailors have of the BC coast.
“We know what our coast looks like, how intricate it is,” said Blaney. “There are a lot of local communities that could be affected. We need that local knowledge and we need to consult with the people before we make those decisions.”
The Liberal government, keeping one of its pre-election promises, announced it will reopen the Kitsilano station, but there has not been any word on the status of the Comox station.
“During the [election] campaign there were promises that the station would not be closed,” said Blaney, “so now we’re just asking questions and trying to find out about the process moving forward.”
