You mentioned you had an incident recently?
Evidence of meeting #41 for National Defence in the 40th Parliament, 3rd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sar.
Evidence of meeting #41 for National Defence in the 40th Parliament, 3rd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sar.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
You mentioned you had an incident recently?
Fisherman, As an Individual
Yes, we had an incident last year. One of my deckhands collapsed on deck. I got on the single sideband and contacted the coast guard, and he put me on to a doctor. The doctor determined that the guy had to be airlifted off. It took two and a half hours for the chopper.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
How would you say your relationship is with the coast guard auxiliary?
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
The communication you have with the coast guard auxiliary or even search and rescue has been a strong one?
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
I want to talk about your confidence level. When you're out there--and just among the fishermen you speak to--how do you feel about the service being provided and the response times?
Fisherman, As an Individual
Well, a lot of fishermen talk about it. You all know about the incidents we've had over the last three or four years, and there's an uneasy feeling that if you're out there in bad weather and then something happens, you're going to have to wait that long to get help.
Regarding the auxiliary, we're there all the time to lend a hand to help whenever we can, but sometimes we're not out when it happens or it happens too far away, or....
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
You have what's called an EPIRB. Can you explain what the EPIRB is as a beacon of distress?
Fisherman, As an Individual
It pinpoints your position, I think, when it's activated. You're in distress when the EPIRB is activated.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
This is something that is mandatory for you to carry?
Fisherman, As an Individual
Yes, it's mandatory for vessels going offshore.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
What about other vessels? What vessels is it mandatory for your EPIRB distress signal?
Fisherman, As an Individual
I'm not quite sure about this. I think when your vessel is over 40 feet or over a certain tonnage, then it is mandatory. You have to have this EPIRB. Also, DFO got VMS on our vessels. That's mandatory.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
That's part of the same system for...? How is it activated? Describe how this works.
Fisherman, As an Individual
The VMS is a tracking device DFO uses to monitor our fishing activities while we're out there.
January 31st, 2011 / 2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Liberal
Fisherman, As an Individual
Then of course you have to pay $80 to $90 a month while it's activated during the fishing season.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
You've talked to a lot of fishermen, fish harvesters. Are they happy with the service they're getting when it comes to the EPIRB? Are they confident that if they were in a distressed situation out there they would be rescued in an adequate amount of time?
Fisherman, As an Individual
I think the EPIRB is a model tool. They use it out there to.... When it's activated, you know there's distress. We've got other means. We have our VHF radio, which is not long range, but we have the sideband radio, which is long range. We monitor the 2182, which is the distress signal, all the time.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Maxime Bernier
Thank you, Scott.
You'll have more time in the second round.
I'll have to give the floor to Mr. Bachand.
Bloc
Claude Bachand Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
I have seven minutes.
You will need your translation device, because I'll be speaking French--which is great, I think, in this part of the country.
This morning, I discovered your search and rescue military base, and I was most impressed with what I saw. I understand that you are quite attached to this base and that the citizens of Gander are, as well. We were given an historic overview of the base. These people are doing an absolutely exceptional job with the resources available. And I promised them that, at the end of the morning, when I had the opportunity, I would tell everyone that the base is a very important asset. As for whether it's enough, that's the question everyone's asking. This is why we're here today to listen to what you have to say.
I was also really impressed by your presentation. It's clear that you know the history of Gander and the east coast. The situation is this: given recent events and various issues, we want to focus on the problem and determine whether there is too much equipment in some places and too little in others. It's always a fine balance. There's an expression about robbing Peter to pay Paul. What needs to happen, though, is for Peter to keep his money, and for Paul's parents—in other words, the federal government—to give him more money. This is what we're thinking about.
Ray, I'm sorry, I'm making you laugh too much.