ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- The Canadian Coast Guard in Newfoundland officially reopened its rescue sub-centre in St. John's on Friday, six years after the former Conservative government shut it down amid a wave of public protests over budget cuts.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to reopen the centre during the federal election campaign in 2015, which saw the Tories lose every seat they had in Atlantic Canada.
Veteran Affairs Minister Seamus O'Regan, a Newfoundland and Labrador MP, was on hand for the opening Friday, saying "a wrong has been righted."
"By reopening this facility, it will provide an essential link for mariners and other ocean users who are operating in the unique, challenging, dangerous waters off our coast," he said. "Proximity is time, and time is everything on the water."
The closure in 2012 sparked protests in the province, where critics said Ottawa's move would put lives at risk, mainly because crucial local knowledge would be absent when co-ordinating rescues in often treacherous conditions.
The 24-hour centre covered an area that spanned more than 900,000 square kilometres of ocean and almost 30,000 kilometres of coastline.
At the time, the Conservative government led by Stephen Harper said the move would save money without lowering standards. Rescue operations off Newfoundland and Labrador were previously dispatched from the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax.
Prior to its closure, the sub-centre in St. John's responded to about 500 incidents per year. The new centre has already responded to 23 calls since opening 18 days ago.
About $2 million has been spent to re-establish the rescue centre, which includes funding for staff training, construction and equipment.
There are currently 12 full-time staff members, all of them new hires after the old centre's staff were laid off.
Operations are taking place in the old coast guard building, and will later be moved to the new building, with construction expected to be completed early next year.
Mark Gould, a search and rescue supervisor at the centre, said response times are expected to improve.
"What we're hoping for, the co-ordination side will be better," said Gould. "More resources, better services, basically."
