Coast Guard or Coast Ignored? WTF is with Ocean Buoys out of service?

finaddict

Well-Known Member
Ok this may come across as nothing more than old guy bitchin', but I just looked at the Environment Canada website to see how the winds and waves are on the West Coast of the Island and points further North. Currently out of the 12 ocean buoys on the WCVI and Queen Charlottes, 5 of them are out of service.
  • La Perouse
  • South Brooks
  • South Nomad
  • South Hecate Strait
  • West Dixon Entrance
I am surprised that this has not been brought up yet. Is it considered acceptable to have over 40% of our key ocean buoys (the ones where ocean conditions are most variable) out of service?

I guess just another example of how a Federal department ignores the West. Truly pathetic. I guess my next step it to complain to Environment Canada. I wonder what their liability would be in a major tragic accident........
 
Ok this may come across as nothing more than old guy bitchin', but I just looked at the Environment Canada website to see how the winds and waves are on the West Coast of the Island and points further North. Currently out of the 12 ocean buoys on the WCVI and Queen Charlottes, 5 of them are out of service.
  • La Perouse
  • South Brooks
  • South Nomad
  • South Hecate Strait
  • West Dixon Entrance
I am surprised that this has not been brought up yet. Is it considered acceptable to have over 40% of our key ocean buoys (the ones where ocean conditions are most variable) out of service?

I guess just another example of how a Federal department ignores the West. Truly pathetic. I guess my next step it to complain to Environment Canada. I wonder what their liability would be in a major tragic accident........

Not uncommon for buoy reporting to be unavailable or delayed - and has nothing to do with politics. Considering the surrounding buoys that are currently reporting, it is a fair assumption that conditions would not be much better in the non-reporting buoy areas.
 
Not uncommon for buoy reporting to be unavailable or delayed - and has nothing to do with politics. Considering the surrounding buoys that are currently reporting, it is a fair assumption that conditions would not be much better in the non-reporting buoy areas.
Fair enough Cap, and I am not expecting immediate response to any buoy that is down. Having said that, I know for sure that South Brooks and LaPerouse have been down for nearly a year now and I find that kind of lack of maintenance (associated with funding from Ottawa) unacceptable.
 
Coast Guard funding is not high on the priority list by the Liberals . That's why the bulk of the 26 large CG vessels in Canada will not be replaced in time for there service life. Justin is too busy giving away our tax dollars to fund his humanitarian efforts abroad. I wish we could have a country that looks after our own before we worry how the rest of the world is struggling.
 
Cant speak for all of them but the LaPerouse one has been out of commission since July 20th. That is actually pretty embarrassing, so if its a signal delay they must be sending it by donkeys. They've had plenty of time to fix. I use that one a lot when i fish Renfrew in summer so I know for sure it hasn't been operational since then.
 
Cant speak for all of them but the LaPerouse one has been out of commission since July 20th. That is actually pretty embarrassing, so if its a signal delay they must be sending it by donkeys. They've had plenty of time to fix. I use that one a lot when i fish Renfrew in summer so I know for sure it hasn't been operational since then.
So many boaters depend on La Perouse as well as South Brooks. For them to be down for so long is inexcusable
 
I gave up on them fixing the bouys. A short steep swell and Estevan pt report is the only good warning of a big nw convection wind looming!
 
South Brooks has been down 18 months and it is a battery issue. Spent more than half a day on the phone.
 
Aren’t these the same guys that will be leading our world class oil spill program? Nothing against the workers but let’s look at the history of underfunding and broken government promises these folks have had to work with!
 
Just a friendly reminder that the conservatives effectively gutted the Coast Guard in 2012. Some people get really hung up on the political parties on here, the two main ones are both atrocious....
 
According to many I know personally who were members at the time this was the initial and most damaging gutting of the Coast Guard.

“In 1995, in order to achieve cost savings, the Canadian Coast Guard transferred to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in order to gather the two largest civilian fleets within the federal government under one department. DFO Science vessels and the Fisheries Conservation and Protection Fleet were incorporated with the Coast Guard Fleet.”
This was all under Jean Chrétien and the Liberals watch unless I’m mistaken?
 
and the process and drive to combine DFO & CG fleets started prior to 1990 during Brian Mulrooney's tenure - but was completed in 1995 or so - during Paul Martin's tenure. It takes a few years to complete these things. Same issues wrt helicopter requisition, etc. for the military. The biggest problem w the merger was that CG took on DFO's fleet w/o any additional $ for maintenance. So CG had to scrap it's well thought-out fleet revitalization program where they were planning on when, where, and how to replace the fleet over 20+ yrs. That's why the fleet is aged now and needs $ to fix it.

Weather is Environment Canada (not CG) - unless it is aviation weather - which is NavCanada's bailiwick. CG and NavCanada got into a pissing match a few years back since NavCanada refused to help contribute to costs of wx reporting facilities hosted by the CG. CG lost. EC has had issues wrt $ to keep-up w the automatic wx recording & reporting equipment placed on CG lighthouses and other places. That issue has progressed or rather regressed over several political administrations as well.

as dradons stated: "both atrocious"
 
Last edited:
and the process and drive to combine DFO & CG fleets started prior to 1990 during Brian Mulrooney's tenure - but was completed in 1995 or so - during Paul Martin's tenure. It takes a few years to complete these things. Same issues wrt helicopter requisition, etc. for the military. The biggest problem w the merger was that CG took on DFO's fleet w/o any additional $ for maintenance. So CG had to scrap it's well thought-out fleet revitalization program where they were planning on when, where, and how to replace the fleet over 20+ yrs. That's why the fleet is aged now and needs $ to fix it.

Weather is Environment Canada (not CG) - unless it is aviation weather - which is NavCanada's bailiwick. CG and NavCanada got into a pissing match a few years back since NavCanada refused to help contribute to costs of wx reporting facilities hosted by the CG. CG lost. EC has had issues wrt $ to keep-up w the automatic wx recording & reporting equipment placed on CG lighthouses and other places. That issue has progressed or rather regressed over several political administrations as well.

as dradons stated: "both atrocious"
Many processes are started under one government and either scrapped by another or continued . The EH 101 is a Prime example as are the Frigate and supply ship replacements. Each new governments delay costs us a fortune and further delays the project.
You’re right that clearly both governments played a role in the Coast Guards demise, but ultimately the government that signed off on the final plan and more importantly instituted it was the Liberals in 1995. The initial post I replied to stated “ the conservatives effectively gutted the Coast Guard in 2012”! I simply pointed out that the Liberals had left little to gut, I accept the point the original idea may have started elsewhere . No pass for the implementer though IMO.

And for clarification regarding the Weather Buoys

“Sixteen offshore weather buoys are maintained by Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada in association with Axys, a private company in Sidney, B.C. The buoys measure general weather information in the marine area around British Columbia and report their data to Environment Canada via satellite”.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top