St. Anthony coast guard centre closing this summer, locals worried

The mayor of St. Anthony is worried about residents' safety once the area's coast guard communications and traffic centre closes later this year.

Distress calls for the Northern Peninsula will be answered outside of the area — and even outside the province. 

Coast guard officials say marine communications is getting an upgrade, which will mean better technology with the same service.

However, it also means fewer resources, which is why the St. Anthony centre is set to close at the end of this summer.

Mayor Ern Simms doesn't buy the argument, and thinks the change will put people at increased risk. 

"Those guys are going out there with ice conditions that you wouldn't believe. They want someone who knows the area talking to them," he said.

"When they contact them on a radio they want to know exactly what's going on and where they are." 

Simms doesn't think dispatchers outside Newfoundland and Labrador will be as knowledgeable about the complexity of the Northern Peninsula's shoreline and communities.  

"It doesn't work," he said. "There's no way anybody's going to know where Mason's Harbour or Spring Island is at, where Shag Rock is at. I mean there's at least 50 Shag Rocks in Newfoundland."

A first-hand experience

Rex Saunders, a sealer from St. Lunaire, knows what it is like to need help from the coast guard in an emergency situation.

His boat capsized on May 4, 2009, which prompted his family to call the communications centre in St. Anthony.

"I was left on a pan of ice for just about three days and two nights," he said.

The coast guard vessel Ann Harvey rescued him from that ice pan, safe and sound. 

He agrees with Simms, and the notion that the dispatchers will not be as familiar with the area, which could lead to mistakes.

"It's going to be bad if someone sends the boat or helicopter to the wrong place," he said.

"I wouldn't know much about Nova Scotia's shore and I don't know how much they know about ours."