The union representing marine communications centre staff is warning the federal government is relying on unproven technology to close three BC centres.
Canadian Autoworkers Union Regional Director Allan Hughes says there isn’t even a working model for the technology.
Hughes says leaving just two centres to handle the workload removes redundancies and increases the risk of a system crash..
“What happens when you consolidate all of the marine VHF sites into one location you are always subject to the possibility of massive failure whether it be through a microwave link or a fibre optic cable being damaged, having Prince Rupert cover 80-percent of the BC coast leaves no redundancy in place in case of one of those failures.”
Hughes says if the system goes down it leaves authorities and marine traffic in the dark “potentially 50 percent or 80 percent of the coast being uncovered for days. The ability and resources of the government to cover that area off to detect a stress incident would be greatly compromised along with regulating vessel traffic such as cruise ships, tankers, tug and tows, and fishing vessels that ply our coast and rely on our services.”
He says the whole scenario is “crazy.”
“Never in our wildest dreams would we have dreamed up a scenario where there would only be two centres left and at the extreme Southern and Northern portions of the province.”
Last week the federal government announced plans to close communications centres in Comox, Tofino, and Canada’s busiest port Vancouver.
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