Birds of a Feather Flock Together – THANK YOU BC YACHT CLUBS!!!
June 15, 2012
As an expression of thanks for the good work that the Council of BC Yacht Clubs is doing in the bid to save the Kitsilano Coast Guard, I decided to offer free ad space to any yacht club which is a member of this fine organization. Ad space may be used to encourage new members to join or to spotlight some of the good work current members are already doing. If you are a member of a BC yacht club associated with the Council of BC Yacht Clubs, please spread the word to your Commodore or Membership Coordinator. Boating in BC is such a wonderful use of recreational time and yacht clubs do much to support that enjoyment. On behalf of everyone working to ensure that the Kits Coast Guard stays open, thank you for everything the yacht clubs are doing to ensure this happens.
Please send your press releases along with contact info to: katrinaboguski@laetareconsulting.com
Boating Vancouver seeks to celebrate all that is true, good and beautiful about boating in and around the waters of Vancouver…yacht clubs surely fall under that description.
(Please send your press releases before June 30th)
Hello,
I think your concern about the Kits Coast Guard closure is valid and important. However, I couldn’t accept the fact that any politician would propose closure without good reasoning.
From digging and asking around (media isn’t good source of info), the government’s reasoning is that there are apparently no 2 coast guard stations as close as the ones in the Vancouver area, which are less busy than many other stations across the country.
Also, the one at Sea Island (Richmond) will be getting a new hovercraft. There’s also a new rescue boat at the Port of Vancouver.
It seems like they are confident the level of service will be the same.
Now, I’m NOT necessarily saying this is the right cut or decision. But I think we should all consider both sides of the story to make a sound judgment.
Nobody likes cuts to government programs, but I do believe that sometimes services can be just as efficient if reorganized properly.
Thank you for your comment and for the way that it was worded; I very much appreciate your contributions to this discussion. I always love the chance for open debate. Your comment gives me the opportunity to point out something I said earlier which is that the job of a politician is a difficult one, a point which I hope more Canadians would appreciate. However, when I hear private citizens and corporations come forward saying they are willing to help fund the Kits Coast Guard out of their own pocket I tend to hope that politicians will take this as a sign that voters want the service maintained. Perhaps working with those who would willingly offer money out of their own pocket would maintain the service and introduce a new paradigm into the equation. What has struck me about this issue is that people have put aside partisan politics in order to help arrive at a solution; this is the sort of behavior I think more of us would do well to model. I am curious, are you yourself a boater? Thank you once again for sharing your thoughts.
Katrina
Hi Katrina,
I stumbled upon this website randomly, and am not a boater myself — so I don’t want to overstate my opinion on this issue as I am not a mariner myself. I hope, whether the Kits Coast Guard stays or they not (implement new technologies instead), this issue can be resolved positively and will definitely be safe!