Metro Vancouver board votes to keep Kits Coast Guard open
Posted September 22, 2012 7:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RICHMOND ( NEWS1130) – Calling it a risk to public safety, the board of Metro Vancouver has banded together against the federal government.
The board has spoken out against the closure, with an overwhelming vote to keep the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station open.
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie says it was an easy decision.
“We see that as an integral part of the entire system. To replace it with a volunteer group and to rely on the forces at Sea Island just didn’t seem realistic.”
Brodie says they didn’t want to wait until someone lost their life thanks to slow response time.
He says this resolution will now be conveyed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and various ministers involved.
“Hopefully rational conclusions will ensure, and they will put off the closure of this very valuable facility. Valuable to the boating public and critical to life safety.”
Under the new plan, Sea Island-based responders, at least 30 minutes away from Vancouver harbour, would handle more than twice as many calls, including up to 100 life-at-risk calls each year previously handled by Kitsilano.
