Tory MP blames bureaucrats, calls for reflection, to avoid coast guard cuts

NANAIMO, B.C. – A Conservative member of parliament from B.C. says more reflection is needed before one coast guard base and three communications centres are axed on the West Coast.

Nanaimo-Alberni MP James Lunney admits he’s concerned by his government’s plans for the closures.

The five-term, Vancouver Island politician believes bureaucrats proposed the closures and he has been arguing strongly against them.

Lunney says communications workers in the Ucluelet centre are best able to monitor vessels in B.C.’s often-challenging coastal waters and he predicts the 25 jobs at the centre will be missed if they disappear.

The B.C. government has already sent a letter of complaint to Ottawa to protest the cost cutting measures.

In all, 10 of 22 coast guard communication centres across Canada are slated for closure over the next three years, along with the coast guard base in Vancouver’s English Bay, despite critic’s arguments that the base is the busiest in Canada. (CKWV)