Thank you.
On April 22 of this year, in a Radio-Canada report, the former coordinator of the Centre de sauvetage maritime de Québec—Quebec City's marine rescue centre—Hubert Desgagné said that there was a risk of confusion associated with delays. According to him, people had often been rescued in last minute situations, so any delays would result in deaths.
Mr. Desgagné spent over 30 years at the Quebec City centre.
A rescue simulation was also carried out on February 27 and 28. The goal was to determine whether the staff was ready to take over for the Quebec City centre. However, the exercise was a failure, even though the staff was larger than that used during regular shifts. The language barrier was to blame. Some people had insufficient languages skills, and those with sufficient skills were overworked. So they were ineffective.
How will you ensure the safety of francophones when the current strategy calls for just one bilingual employee at the Halifax and Trenton centres?