Fisgard Lighthouse - Click for full size - Image Credit - Fisgard Lighthouse Historical Site

Canadian lightkeepers report on weather and sea conditions, collect long-term scientific data that would otherwise be difficult to obtain, protect rare wildlife and plant species, give first aid assistance and other help to tourists and hikers, track down overdue boats, assist vessels in distress with pumps, provide first aid and sanctuary, patch boats,  and prepare staging grounds for medical evacuations, and much more besides.  On the Pacific coast they  also participate in the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network, a program that collects reports of whales, dolphins, porpoises and sea turtles, many of which are threatened or endangered species.

The Coast Guard’s previous attempt to remove Canada’s remaining lightkeepers in the mid-1990s had met with widespread and overwhelming opposition and nothing has changed.  However, in 2009, the Canadian Coast Guard advised lighthouse-keepers on the BC coast that the federal government intended to automate services as a cost cutting measure.

The Department of Fisheries and Ocean took the position that most lighthouses are already fully automated without the need for human intervention, but the lighthouse community and many others took the position that many of today’s smaller and less-equipped vessels still depend  on staffed lighthouse services.

In April 2010, the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans launched its study on Canadian lighthouses. The committee held public hearings in Ottawa and travelled to Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia on fact-finding missions.

The Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, sponsored by Senators and passed by Parliament, provides a mechanism designating a heritage lighthouse and turning it over to a municipality or non-profit group or even a private business, provided the new owners and their successors preserve the lighthouse structure and appearance.

A Senate committee report in December 2010 called on Fisheries Minister Gail Shea to scrap the move to eliminate manning lighthouses, observing:

In our deliberations, opposition to destaffing was overwhelmingly negative and greatest in British Columbia.  People’s views have not changed. … In British Columbia, we heard over and over that automated weather systems are inaccurate and unreliable: they are often out of commission, are most likely to crash when they are most needed, take a long time to be repaired,  and give incomplete information in that they do not report on sea state, visibility and other aspects of local conditions that are important to the users. Sometimes they provide incorrect information even when operational.

Manned BC Lighthouses Map - Click for full size - Image Credit - Lighthouses of British Columbia

The full report and recommendations titled  Seeing the Light: Report on Staffed Lighthouses in Newfoundland, Labrador and British Columbia (PDF file) can read read at the link provided. The first recommendation of five made by the  Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans is:

The Committee recommends that the Canadian Coast Guard halt its current destaffing plan, and that destaffing, continued staffing, or restaffing be determined on a lightstationby- lightstation basis through appropriate guidelines and thorough consultations. Until this is completed, current lightkeeper staff levels should be maintained in the Pacific Region and in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region.

On March 23rd, 2011 the federal government reversed the plan to  remove staff from lighthouses across Canada. Just prior to the fall of their government and a spring election call the Conservatives finally agreed to capitulate and, a resounding cheer was heard from Gulf Islanders and many others in British Columbia and on the east coast of Canada as well.

Read also:  Battle won to keep lighthouses staffed