Lighthouses of BC

[Bingo]

Surplus Lighthouses

The federal government has announced that 976 unmanned light houses across the country are surplus, and could be replaced with simpler structures.

The beacon on the end of the Ogden Point breakwater is one that could be replaced.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans acknowledge the heritage value of such structures and says individuals, municipalities or non-profit groups can protect them by seeking heritage designation through Parks Canada.

Hertitage designation would be a smart approach for the Ogden Point light before another iconic piece of Victoria gets replaced.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/un...283/story.html

[yodsaker]

Many of them are graceful and loaded with character and stories, they help define our coasts and bring some romanticism to a desperately unromantic country.
They'll be replaced by generic ugly steel towers with a computer box inside.
And so one more piece of our heritage is dumped to save pennies.
Meanwhile $1 billion or more is pissed away on a 3-day party for windbags and their planeloads of arselickers.
Feh!

[victorian fan]

A billion dollar boondoggle.
An artificial lake with canoes, trees, deck chairs and a fake dock, this may be the last straw. For heaven's sake, the meeting isn't a spectator sport.

Lose the lake, save the lighthouses.

[VicHockeyFan]

Yah, they ought to can the lighthouses. Tourism groups or preservationists or the like can take over the best few of them. Sounds reasonable.

[Bingo]

Senate committee recommends lighthouse staffing be maintained for now. - OTTAWA

"A Senate committee that travelled to two provinces to study lighthouse operations in the country is recommending Ottawa continue staffing the facilities for now.

The committee says the Department of Fisheries should halt its lighthouse destaffing plan and suggests future staffing decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis.

It says guidelines and consultations are needed to determine whether keepers should be maintained in Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia.

Senator Bill Rompkey, chair of the committee, says they were unanimously recommending continued staffing after hearing overwhelming support for lighthouse personnel on both coasts.

The committee also recommends a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis be done on the full range of services provided by staffed lighthouses.
Fisheries Minister Gail Shea announced the review and stalled plans to remove lighthouse keepers amid fierce criticism last year, as some argued the move would cost lives at sea".

Oh holy night, they have seen the light.

http://home.mytelus.com/telusen/port...CatID=National

[Bernard]

All the arguments for keeping the lighthouses have to do with roles the lightkeepers are not responsible for. If the coast watch is an important thing, then there should be some other way that it gets paid for and no pretend that these roles make it worth keeping lightkeepers on staff