Image: Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press
Liberal authorities are holding to their promises to reopen Kitsilano Coast Guard Base. The closure handled by the conservative government in 2013 was controversial, to say the least. After a series of protests, the station remained closed. There was additional salt in the wound and a chorus of “I told you so’s” with the oil spill in 2015.
Hunter Tootoo, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard, didn’t say when the base will be in operation, whether the original 12 staff and three vessels will be returned or how much it will cost to open its doors. But the process is underway.
Tootoo said that the base has been abandoned for three years, has “mould issues” and needs to be assessed before moving staff back in. The only timeline he could give to reopen the facility was “as soon as possible.”
“It was a mistake that it was closed in any respect,” stated B.C. Premier Christy Clark. “So many individuals use this harbour, not simply business delivery, so many voters.”
Robertson stated the Kitsilano closure “made issues worse” this previous summer when 3,000 litres of , soiling native seashores and sparking a two-week cleanup.
The oil spill occurred a kilometre away from the closed Kitsilano station. Coast guard response from the closest open base in Richmond was criticized as sluggish.
Critics additionally believed the Kitsilano closure put mariners in busy English Bay and Burrard Inlet at elevated danger due to the longer emergency response time.
