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e-4355 (Public safety)
E-petition
Initiated by Kristen Montgomery from Tofino, British Columbia
Original language of petition: English
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 and surf schools who operate in the park;
- February 10, 2018, a man died near Lovekin Rock at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Bystanders attempted CPR but were unable to revive the man;
- May 20, 2018, in the same area, a woman drowned. Local surfers where able to get her back to land but were unable to revive her;
- March 26, 2019, four people spent two hours stranded on Lovekin Rock before being hoisted off the rock. A concerned bystander alerted 911. Coast Guard and Canadian Forces where able to orchestrate a successful helicopter rescue;
- August 7, 2021 another person drowned 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 to 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.
- Open for signature
- March 16, 2023, at 2:46 p.m. (EDT)
- Closed for signature
- June 14, 2023, at 2:46 p.m. (EDT)
