The Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has made their report public into the issue of staffing of lighthouses and has made some very strong recommendations to the federal government. It will now be up to the Minister and the Cabinet to implement those recommendations.
The committee delivered its recommendations on de-staffing lighthouses after earlier visits to B.C. and Atlantic Canada. But the recommendations, does not guarantee the future of light stations on Merry Island near Sechelt or Nanaimo's Entrance Island.
Jim Abram, a director for a large portion of the Coast represented by the Strathcona Regional District and leader of the fight to keep staff since 1985, was extremely pleased with the recommendations but cautiously optimistic about the final decision yet to be made by Minister Gail Shea.
"I have been dealing with this issue for far too many years and it just keeps coming back to the public to fight all over again," he said in a news release. "The Conservative government has supported staff on light stations since they were in Opposition in 2003 and right through to the present day, yet senior managers in the Canadian Coast Guard continue to bring this misguided program before Ministers for implementation. This government needs to put this issue to rest by affirming its support for staffing of light stations and inform the Coast Guard that they do not want to see it come up again."
The recommendations will now be submitted to Minister Shea for consideration and for a final decision on the matter.
Alice Woods, acting President for the BC Lightkeepers Local of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said she was confident that the Senators would come back with positive recommendations based on the overwhelming support from the users of the safety services offered by staffed light stations.
"Every time the Coast Guard attempts to take staff off of stations, the users come out in droves to tell them that the services are essential to the safety and the economy of our province and our country," she added.
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