Founded in 2010, the Canadian Lightkeepers Association promotes awareness and understanding of Canada's requirements for staffed lightstations. Specifically, we aim to: [more]

Alice Woods

Minister cancels Coast Guard plan to de-staff lighthouses

Posted Wed, 2011-04-06 08:57
Date Published: 
2011-03-28
Source: 
Gabriola Sounder

The Government of Canada has cancelled plans to de-staff 50 lighthouses across Canada, 27 of which are located in British Columbia, including the Entrance Island lighthouse just off Gabriola.

Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans announced the cancellation on Wednesday morning last week, following a Senate Committee report given in Dec. 2010 which had recommended she do so.

Lighthouse keepers to stay at helm

Posted Thu, 2011-03-24 10:54
Date Published: 
2011-03-24
Source: 
Globe & Mail

Moments after Alice Woods got a bulletin from Ottawa announcing the government had abandoned plans to phase out lighthouse keepers on both the East and West coasts, she typed an e-mail to her colleagues.

“Thanks to all for your work for the people of the coast. You have, as always, protected them,” she wrote from her base at the Chatham Point light station, overlooking the Inside Passage, on British Columbia’s south coast.
More related to this storys

Lighthouse destaffing plan dropped

Posted Thu, 2011-03-24 10:08
Date Published: 
2011-03-24
Source: 
Nanaimo News Bulletin

Lighthouses will continue to shine under the careful hands of lightkeepers on B.C. coasts.

Destaffing plans are halted, John Duncan, Vancouver Island North Conservative MP, announced Wednesday on behalf of Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea.

“This is great news for B.C.,” said Duncan, adding that the senate committee tasked with reviewing the destaffing issue had open minds and listened to stakeholders’ concerns.

Plans to destaff lighthouses across Canada have been halted

Posted Wed, 2011-03-23 16:26
Date Published: 
2011-03-23
Source: 
Victoria Times-Colonist

Plans to destaff lighthouses across Canada are being halted, Vancouver Island North MP John Duncan announced Wednesday morning.

“Light stations and lightkeepers on B.C.’s coast are an icon and important for safety, sovereignty and science,” said the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, in a conference call.

The lighthouse keepers are community liaisons and liaisons with government agencies “and in strategic locations where we need a presence,” Duncan said.

Dark days for Canada's lighthouses.

Posted Fri, 2011-03-04 19:38
Date Published: 
2011-03-04
Source: 
Capital News Online: Ottawa, by Ainslie Cruickshank

Gary Troake was 40 years old when he drowned off the coast of Twillingate Island, N.L. in 2000. His father, a local fisherman, found his body.

“He drowned right under the lighthouse, less than 500 yards [from it],” says Jack Troake.

He believes his son’s death could have been prevented. “If there was a lighthouse keeper, doing his job like was required of him years ago, he’d be doing his walk about and he would have seen the minute that boat capsized.”

Someone could have been on scene within 10 or 15 minutes, he says

Coast Guard cost-cutting

Entrance Island lightkeeper spots dangerous water spouts.

Posted Sat, 2011-02-19 11:32
Date Published: 
2011-02-19
Source: 
Victoria Times-Colonist

Keen-eyed lightkeeper spies water spouts: Staffed lighthouses needed to warn of 'tornadoes over water': advocates.

(Victoria) - Inky-black clouds first caught the attention of lightkeeper Glenn Borgens as he looked out from the lighthouse on Entrance Island, off Nanaimo, Thursday morning.

Then the weird weather became more dramatic as five water spouts dropped out of the bottom of the clouds.

"It was quite something to see," said Borgens, who, as the first spout developed, phoned the Canadian Coast Guard so warnings could be broadcast to marine and air traffic.

Waterspout.jpg

Lightkeepers necessary

Posted Thu, 2011-01-06 20:32
Date Published: 
2011-01-06
Source: 
North Island Gazette: Campbell River, BC

The Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has recommended the government continue to staff lighthouses for the time being.

The Senate committee was tasked with reporting on Coast Guard plans to de-staff 50 lightstations. Twenty-seven of those stations are on the Pacific coast.

Now it is up to Gail Shea, the minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, DFO, and the federal cabinet to decide what to do next.

Senators praised for decision on staffing Lighthouses

Posted Tue, 2011-01-04 22:01
Date Published: 
2011-01-04
Source: 
Coast Reporter: Sechelt, BC

The Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has made their report public into the issue of staffing of lighthouses and has made some very strong recommendations to the federal government. It will now be up to the Minister and the Cabinet to implement those recommendations.

The committee delivered its recommendations on de-staffing lighthouses after earlier visits to B.C. and Atlantic Canada. But the recommendations, does not guarantee the future of light stations on Merry Island near Sechelt or Nanaimo’s Entrance Island.

Report is a beacon of hope for B.C. lighthouse keepers: Staff favoured over automated lights

Posted Sat, 2010-12-25 09:06
Date Published: 
2010-12-24
Source: 
Vancouver Province

B.C. lighthouse keepers got an “early Christmas present” this week with the release of a Senate committee report urging the Canadian Coast Guard to stop eliminating keepers in favour of automated lights.

Although federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea has yet to react to the report and make a decision on a Coast Guard plan to de-staff lighthouses, former keeper Jim Abram said he feels optimistic.

Green Island.jpg

Lighthouse staffing supported

Posted Wed, 2010-12-22 10:30
Date Published: 
2010-12-22
Source: 
Nanaimo Daily News

The lighthouse on Nanaimo's Entrance Island will remain staffed for the time being if the federal government decides to follow recommendations of a Senate committee tasked to study the issue.

The federal government announced last year that it intended to destaff Entrance Island and three other B.C. lighthouses as a cost-saving measure, arguing that they are already fully automated.