Thanks to Parks Canada staff for meeting up with me recently on Long Beach out by Lovekin Rock on the west coast. I very much appreciated our discussion about the now defunct surf guard program which was cut by Conservatives and in spite of my frequent advocacy, not yet reestablished by the Liberals. I will continue to push hard for paid surf guard employees or contractors rather than continued reliance on volunteers. Strangely, the government continues to fund a surf guard program at its national park in Cape Breton and, in fact, provides greater levels of subsidization than at Pacific Rim Park which generates far greater participation and income. It was also exciting to meet with the Coastal Stewards and Indigenous Warriors on the beach and thank them for their work, educating surfers and other visitors to the park about the hazards of our coastal waters and shoreline.
