(OTTAWA) - Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, together with Green candidates from Vancouver, renew their call to re-open the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station.
“We have been demanding that our Coast Guard be available on our BC coast,” said Ms. May “The Green Party has fought the closures since they were first announced in 2012, and we will continue to support policies that defend the health and safety of coastal communities.”
Lynne Quarmby, the Green Party’s Science Policy Critic and candidate for Burnaby North – Seymour, added, “The English Bay spill has shown how an inadequate spill response strategy created a major health and environmental risk - Imagine then what would happen if a diluted bitumen project like the Trans-Mountain expansion project was approved.”
“A large factor behind the English Bay spill was the systematic dismantling of critical infrastructure that must remain in place,” added Claire Martin, the Green Party’s Climate Change Critic and candidate for North Vancouver. “Remotely controlling responses from Victoria is not the way to run a coastal response strategy.”
“If the Kinder Morgan project were to go ahead, we would see a five-fold increase in tankers carrying diluted bitumen through these waters. Diluted bitumen is an extremely toxic substance that is virtually impossible to clean up – a spill of diluted bitumen would produce a toxic plume sinking through the water column, killing everything on its way down. While re-opening the coast guard station is imperative for minimizing damage to the marine environment, even a fast response will do little to mitigate a diluted bitumen spill,” said Dr. Quarmby.
“In the wake of the English Bay debacle, we re-assert the demand to re-open the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station,” concluded Ms. May.
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For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Julian Morelli
Director of Communications
Green Party of Canada
cell: (613) 614 4916
office: (613) 562 4916 (224)
julian.morelli@greenparty.ca
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Background: Kitsilano Coast Guard Station
The Kitsilano Coast Guard station was renowned for its speed in responding to marine emergencies. Following an announcement in the 2012 omnibus budget bill C-38, the coast guard station was abruptly closed in February 2013.