Kitsilano coast guard increases staffing

VANCOUVER – A Vancouver coast guard base reopened by the federal Liberal government is increasing its staffing levels during the summer months.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada says starting this May long weekend, Kitsilano station will have four crews of three working 12-hour shifts.

Fisheries department spokesman Dan Bate says before the change, the station had two crews of three working eight-hour shifts with 16 hours on call.

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The union representing coast guard workers had complained that when the base first reopened May 1, it only had three crew members and didn’t have 24/7 rescue capacity.

Bate says the old staffing model provided around-the-clock capacity through a combination of standby and working hours, while the new model will have rotating 12-hour shifts.

The previous Conservative government closed the base and the Liberals made a campaign promise last year to reopen it amid criticism of the coast guard’s response to a fuel spill in English Bay.