Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to congratulate the fisheries minister on his announcement on the implementation of a full time, full service, rescue dive program at the Coast Guard's Sea Island base in my riding of Richmond.
A full service dive program means that full rescue dive and backup teams will be installed on a 24 hours a day, 7 day a week basis to respond to maritime emergencies off the lower mainland of British Columbia.
The Coast Guard has allocated an initial $300,000 to recruit and train new divers, and update equipment and facilities. A full dive team will be set up consisting of at least four teams of six divers, and a further $1 million per year will follow to ensure its continuing operation.
This program will be fully compliant with all necessary regulations and will ensure the safety of our divers while giving British Columbians the full time, full service, dive program they value.