Thank you.
Officials have been reassuring members of this committee that the closure of the Kitsilano coast guard station is having no impact on coast guard response times. However, the recent incidents in Vancouver have raised serious concerns, primarily that response times would be much quicker if the Kits station were still open.
In response to yesterday's early morning incident with the sunken fishing vessel, the minister claimed RCMSAR responded in 11 minutes. However, a spokesperson for RCMSAR confirmed the auxiliary crew arrived on scene after the hovercraft, which came from Sea Island station.
There were also reports that the assistant commissioner of the coast guard's western region stepped down or went on leave after refusing to close the Kitsilano station on short notice. Given the outstanding concerns of many British Columbians that closure of the Kitsilano station is putting lives at risk, I'd like to move my motion:
That, because the safety of Canadians will be compromised with the closure of the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station, the busiest station in Canada, and because there was a lack of consultation with stakeholders and experts the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans immediately study the impact of the potential consequences of the closure of Kitsilano Coast Guard Station.