The Canadian Coast Guard announced the official opening of the new Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue station in Victoria on Tuesday.
#NewsFromBritishColumbia: Today we announced through the #OceansProtectionPlan the official opening of the first of 3 #SearchAndRescue stations on the #WestCoast!
Curious to see what the #Victoria base looks like? 🎥 Take a look inside…
Learn more: https://t.co/S1QVCUeYB7 pic.twitter.com/WuKFGHWxB3
— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) May 25, 2021
Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard announced the opening of the new building on Dallas Road on Tuesday, May 25th.
The new building will be staffed 24-hours and offers an office, meeting space, and living quarters alongside the Coast Guard’s Victoria base, with easy access to the harbour.
The new building replaces a temporary station which opened in 2018.
The station features a 14.7-metre Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat, the CCGS Cape Calvert, and a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat, providing 24-hour response services for search and rescue, environmental response, and other activities.
The marine infrastructure for the Victoria station vessels is projected for completion by 2023.
“In 2018, our government announced our plan to build a new SAR station in Victoria, and I’m thrilled to see that vision become a reality today,” said Beech.
“The new, permanent search and rescue station in Victoria will allow the women and men of the Canadian Coast Guard to better respond to marine emergencies on the busy Strait of Juan de Fuca. This station is just one way our government is delivering on its promise to keep Canada’s oceans and coastlines safe under the Oceans Protection Plan.”
As part of the federal government’s $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan, the Canadian Coast Guard is opening additional search and rescue stations in BC, including search and rescue stations in Hartley Bay and Tahsis, and a multi-purpose marine response facility planned in Port Renfrew.
