National

Vancouver Coast Guard Base Shuttered By Conservative Government To Re-Open

The Canadian Press, 16 Dec, 2015 01:16 PM

VANCOUVER — A Vancouver coast guard base shuttered amid controversy by the former Conservative government will be re-opening.

Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo announced the news alongside B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson while outside the former Kitsilano coast guard base.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark says the closure of the station was a mistake and she is delighted that the new federal government has reversed the decision for the safety of those who use the harbour.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an election campaign promise to re-open the base, which he reaffirmed in a mandate letter to Tootoo last month.

The closure of the station in 2013 as a cost-cutting measure was loudly criticized at the time and again when a grain ship spilled 2,800 litres of bunker fuel into Vancouver's harbour last April.

The coast guard faced heavy criticism for its response to the incident after it took 12 hours to install an oil-absorbing boom around the ship and to notify the city.

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