Mr. Speaker, I stand tonight to again address a most serious issue, in fact, what could be called a crisis situation that we are facing in Newfoundland and Labrador with the closure of the maritime rescue sub-centre in St. John's. People who have ever worked or travelled on the ocean know only too well how important it is to have that safety net and to know that if they need help it is there for them.
The decision the government has taken to close the MRSC in St. John's means that not only will 12 employees be out of work, which is a serious enough issue as it is, but safety will be impacted here. It means that people who have come to rely on the expertise at the MRSC in St. John's will no longer be able to avail themselves of that expertise and that local knowledge of the Newfoundland coastline. It is a serious issue.
We have employees who have been making the case very well, explaining what they do. There are open invitations to the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and to Minister Penashue who is a regional minister for Newfoundland and Labrador but their invitations have been ignored. Neither of those Conservative ministers have visited the maritime rescue sub-centre to see first-hand how important the work that it does is and how crucial it is that the work continue. Why they will not visit and find out for themselves is beyond me and beyond anyone else who really would like to show them how important the centre is and the work that is carried out there. Regrettably, both have chosen not to go.
The Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities has not been there. That invitation has been issued to anyone from the Conservative government to go and see this operation and find out how important it is . We need to believe that if they knew and saw first-hand the importance of the centre and the lives that it has saved over the years, that they would have a change of heart and realize that this centre should continue to operate.
We know what happened with Jason Hamilton in Nova Scotia when he spoke out and said that it was not the right thing to do. He was reprimanded for speaking his mind. That is not something that should happen when people are expressing a view that is contrary to the government, when trying to get a point across and trying to inform the government that a decision it is taking is not the right decision. It is not the right decision because it impacts on the lives of people.
What is important here is ensuring that when people travel on the ocean they know they have someone who is looking out for them. It is a difficult environment as it is. Those who fish and those who work on the oil rigs are working in the most volatile environment and they need to know that when they are out there someone is looking out for their safety if they need to be saved. They do not need to worry about whether someone will be there for them.
I will reiterate my question, which I have asked time and again. Will the government reconsider its decision to close the maritime rescue sub-centre recognizing how important it is and recognizing that it will not be saving $1 million by closing the centre? What is $1 million when we are talking about the cost of a life and about ensuring that when people are on the ocean, if they require the services of a maritime rescue sub-centre, people with local knowledge and expertise, that really should be the priority?