Vancouver Island NDP MPs are speaking out against plans to automate West Coast lighthouses.
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns sent a letter to the federal fisheries minister on Friday. It was co-signed by Alistair MacGregor from Cowichan-Malahat-Langford.
The letter says the decision to automate lighthouses at Carmanah and Pachena Points was made without consultation with the staff living on site, local First Nations, governments, or mariners.
Johns says former keepers have helped mariners lost in fog or storms reach safety, and have also helped injured hikers along the West Coast trail. He says automating the stations will make the coast less safe.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the lighthouses are being automated because they are no longer safe for on-site residents, but Johns says removing keepers poses greater risks.
“Both of these lighthouses are designated under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act and are situated in an area long called the “graveyard of the Pacific” because of hazards,” he said in a social media post. “I am hopeful the government will come to its senses on this matter.”
