441-02434 Public safety
Petition to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Whereas:
Emergencies on Long Beach are attended by Parks Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Coast Guard, Westcoast Inland Search and Rescue, B.C. Emergency Response Group, and the RCMP; however, rescues initially fall in the hands of surfers and beachgoers; On February 10, 2018, doctoral candidate Nijin John died near Lovekin Rock at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve; bystander Vincent Mallaley attempted CPR but Nijin John ultimately died at the scene;
On May 20, 2018, Ann Wittenberg died in an ocean accident near Lovekin Rock at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve; surfers and other bystanders pulled her from the ocean and attempted CPR, but she died on scene hours before her daughter's (Victoria Orr) wedding;
On March 26, 2019, four people spent two hours stranded on Lovekin Rock before being hoisted, unharmed, off the rock by a chopper; a concerned citizen called 9-1-1 around 4:00 p.m., and Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) Victoria proceeded to task a Royal Canadian Air Force Cormorant helicopter out of Canadian Forces Base Comox and the Canadian Coast Guard;
On August 7, 2021 there was another drowning at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve;
According to Parks Canada, over one million people visit Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, making it the third most visited National Park in Canada; and
Lifeguards watched over the beach as part of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve's Surf Guard Program for 40 years until the federal Conservative government cut the program in 2012.
We, the undersigned, residents of British Columbia and visitors to the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, call upon the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to reinstate the surf guard tower and surf guard services, and extend the duration of the surf guard program to accommodate the growing number of emergencies as well as visitors at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
Whereas:
Emergencies on Long Beach are attended by Parks Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Coast Guard, Westcoast Inland Search and Rescue, B.C. Emergency Response Group, and the RCMP; however, rescues initially fall in the hands of surfers and beachgoers; On February 10, 2018, doctoral candidate Nijin John died near Lovekin Rock at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve; bystander Vincent Mallaley attempted CPR but Nijin John ultimately died at the scene;
On May 20, 2018, Ann Wittenberg died in an ocean accident near Lovekin Rock at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve; surfers and other bystanders pulled her from the ocean and attempted CPR, but she died on scene hours before her daughter's (Victoria Orr) wedding;
On March 26, 2019, four people spent two hours stranded on Lovekin Rock before being hoisted, unharmed, off the rock by a chopper; a concerned citizen called 9-1-1 around 4:00 p.m., and Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) Victoria proceeded to task a Royal Canadian Air Force Cormorant helicopter out of Canadian Forces Base Comox and the Canadian Coast Guard;
On August 7, 2021 there was another drowning at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve;
According to Parks Canada, over one million people visit Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, making it the third most visited National Park in Canada; and
Lifeguards watched over the beach as part of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve's Surf Guard Program for 40 years until the federal Conservative government cut the program in 2012.
We, the undersigned, residents of British Columbia and visitors to the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, call upon the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to reinstate the surf guard tower and surf guard services, and extend the duration of the surf guard program to accommodate the growing number of emergencies as well as visitors at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.