COURTENAY – Conservative Candidate John Duncan announced October 5 that a re-elected Conservative Government will take additional steps towards protecting BC’s coast and supporting marine safety. “Our Party has always been committed to protecting Canada from coast to coast to coast,” said John Duncan. “That’s why we’ll build on our strong record of maritime protection and security and commit new resources to support British Columbia’s coast.”
A re-elected Conservative Government will provide new resources to address the issue of derelict boats, acquire greater tugboat capacity on the West Coast, and develop HMCS Discovery into a major Maritime joint operations centre for the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard.
These new promises build on a number of existing measures the Conservative Government has undertaken aimed at heightening Canada’s coastal security, including increased funding to the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces, expanded cooperation between the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), the establishment of a new CCG Environmental Response office, and the positioning of a CCG Pollution Response Vessel in Vancouver harbor.
Duncan stated in a media release the commitments announced October 5 were further examples of the targeted, affordable investments the Conservative Party is making in British Columbia, while balancing the budget and lowering taxes on Canadians.
“The Liberals and NDP claim they’ll spend billions and billions of dollars with money they simply don’t have. Their out-of-control spending promises would wreck our economy and take money right out of the pockets of Canadians,” said Candidate John Duncan. “Only Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative Party have a plan to keep our coastal regions safe and secure while protecting the Canadian and economy and creating jobs.”