Three-person summer crew replaces Vancouver’s closing coast guard station

VANCOUVER – The federal government has announced a rescue station will be established for waters off Vancouver to replace the soon-to-be closed Kitsilano coast guard station.

The move is an effort to appease critics who denounced the station’s closure as a dangerous cost-cutting measure for people who use the water around the city.

The smaller rescue station will be set up at the existing navy facility in Stanley Park and will be operated by three people from May to September, during the peak boating season.

Staff will include one rescue professional and two summer students.

Protests have been ongoing since the Conservative government announced the closure almost a year ago, prompting Vancouver’s police and fire chiefs to express their concerns in a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Critics say the Kitsilano base handles more than 300 calls a year, and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson says it’s the busiest in Canada.