Government of Canada enhances maritime search and rescue capacity on the northeast coast of Newfoundland and Labrador

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Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador

The Canadian Coast Guard plays an essential role in ensuring the safety of mariners and protection of Canada’s marine environment. Through the Oceans Protection Plan, the Government of Canada is working to improve marine safety and protect Canada’s waters and coasts today and for the future.

Today, the Member of Parliament for Notre Dame, Scott Simms, on behalf of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, unveiled a new Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue station in Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador. MP Simms also took part in a dedication to service ceremony for a new 19-metre lifeboat stationed in Twillingate, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Conception Bay, one of 20 high-endurance lifeboats being built under the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

The new $8.3-million station was created under the Oceans Protection Plan to enhance the Coast Guard’s ability to respond to marine emergencies, including environmental response, in the waters off the northeast coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The station began operations in May 2020 and will operate as a 24-hour-a-day seasonal station from May to December each year, depending on ice conditions.

Sustainability was a key consideration in the design and construction of this new station, including registration with the Canada Green Building Council under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system. The station consists of an operations building with crew accommodations and a garage with workshop space for the station’s fast rescue craft. A new wharf and floating dock was constructed to accommodate the CCGS Conception Bay.

Under the Oceans Protection Plan, the Canadian Coast Guard has already opened new search and rescue stations in St. Anthony and Old Perlican, Newfoundland and Labrador, each with its own dedicated lifeboat.

The $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan is the largest investment ever made to protect Canada’s coasts and waterways. This national plan is creating a marine safety system that provides economic opportunities for Canadians today, while protecting our coastlines and clean water for generations to come. This work is being done in close collaboration with Indigenous peoples, local stakeholders and coastal communities.