A Vancouver Island MP is calling out Ottawa over funding cuts to programs that help protect our coasts.
Courtenay-Alberni New Democrat MP, Gord Johns, says the federal government is abandoning coastal communities by cancelling a long list of coastline protections.
In the House of Commons, Johns says that like the Conservatives before them, the Liberals stopped funding some key ocean protections.
“Recently, the Liberals cut the Ghost and derelict fishing gear clean up fund, closed lighthouses, cut funding to deal with invasive Green Crab, and are still allowing a massive ship to be dismantled in a sensitive ecosystem.”
Johns also says a plan to deal with lost shipping containers and marine spills has been delayed, and the government allowed its own deadline to pass on a plan for First Nations, communities and workers affected by the transition from open net salmon farms.
According to Johns, the Liberals recent laundry list of coastal failures includes:
– Cutting the Ghost and derelict Ghost gear clean up fund,
– Closing two Vancouver Island lighthouses without adequate consultation,
– Cutting funding to deal with invasive Green Crab and invasive species.
– Ignoring a massive ship being dismantled onshore in a sensitive ecosystem without a proper facility,
– Have delayed a on a plan to deal with lost shipping containers and marine spills.
– And, they missed their own deadline for a plan for First Nations, coastal communities, workers, and suppliers impacted by the transition from open net salmon farms.
According to the Canadian Coast Guard, the decision to remove lighthouse keepers at Carmanah Point and Pachena on the west coast of Vancouver Island was due to recently identified safety risks due to land instability.
The coast guard says Aids to Navigation at both sites will continue to operate.
