OTTAWA, Aug. 24, 2018 /CNW/ - The Canadian Coast Guard plays an essential role in ensuring the safety of mariners and the protection of Canada's marine environment and coastal communities. Through the $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan, the Government of Canada is working to improve marine safety and protect Canada's waters and coasts today and for the future.
As part of this Plan, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced today that a new Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue station will be built in Tahsis, B.C to allow for an enhanced response to marine emergencies on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island.
The new station will be home to a 14.7-metre Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat, and will operate 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year. It is expected to open in early 2020.
Tahsis is located in the area of Nootka Sound, which has been identified as a location that would benefit from increased marine search and rescue capacity. The Government of Canada worked closely and in partnership with the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation in selecting the location for this new station.
Under the Oceans Protection Plan, the Canadian Coast Guard is also opening new search and rescue stations in Hartley Bay and Port Renfrew, as well as the new Victoria station which has been in operation since July 2018.
Quotes
"The new Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue station in Tahsis improves our ability to respond to marine emergencies and incidents of all kinds in the waters of Nootka Sound, and the entire area off the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. This station and its professional and highly trained Coast Guard personnel will make these waters safer for mariners."
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
"The Mowachaht-Muchalaht are a people with a culture engrained in the sea and its resources, and hope the presence of this station will aid in the stewardship of our sea and resources and improve the safety of the people that partake upon it. While acknowledging we can work as partners in this initiative, the addition of this station will provide the additional support needed to improve our way of life, as well as those we share the resource with."
Chief Mike Maquinna, Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation
"The life and culture of this community and the region are deeply influenced by our maritime environment. Protecting the coast and saving lives are fundamental values espoused by our residents and visitors. This Search and Rescue Station evidences the federal government's concrete support for these same principles."
Randy Taylor, Acting Mayor on behalf of Tahsis Council, Village of Tahsis
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SOURCE Canadian Coast Guard
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