1. Office of Randeep Sarai
Member of Parliament
Surrey–Centre
Marine
Strategy
for
the
B.C.
Coast
Prepared
by
Randeep
Sarai,
MP
September
2016
_________________
Randeep
Sarai,
MP

2. Office of Randeep Sarai
Member of Parliament
Surrey–Centre
Contents
§ Marine
Strategy
for
B.C.
Coast
i. Marine
Safety
Institute
ii. Marine
Research
and
Stewardship
Centre
of
Excellence
iii. Coordinated
Marine
Command
Centre
§ Summary

3. Office of Randeep Sarai
Member of Parliament
Surrey–Centre
Marine
Strategy
for
B.C.
Coast
As
we
all
know,
we
are
entering
into
a
new
era
that
will
involve
a
greater
amount
of
tanker
traffic
on
our
pristine
coasts,
whether
that
is
for
LNG,
bitumen,
or
other
natural
resources.
Nevertheless,
we
have
sparse
resources
to
react
and
respond
on
our
long
and
vast
coastline
if
a
disaster
is
ever
to
occur.
Currently,
we
have
half
a
dozen
pipelines
and
terminal
proposals
spread
out
over
a
1000
km
coast,
with
hardly
any
Coast
Guard
or
response
centres
in-­‐
between.
We
therefore
must
create
a
comprehensive
Marine
Safety
Strategy
for
the
West
Coast
in
order
to
safeguard
our
coast,
foster
safe
and
efficient
trade,
and
gain
the
confidence
of
our
constituents.

4. Office of Randeep Sarai
Member of Parliament
Surrey–Centre
In
order
to
achieve
this,
we
need
to
have
a
Marine
Safety
Institute,
a
Marine
Research
and
Stewardship
Centre
of
Excellence,
and
a
Coordinated
Marine
Command
Centre.
I. Marine
Safety
Institute
When
analyzing
the
coast,
we
see
that
there
is
only
a
few
Coast
Guard
and
Navy
Bases
as
well
as
vast
distances
between
them.
With
our
current
layout
spill
response
times
can
take
very
long
(up
to
12-­‐14
hours).

5. Office of Randeep Sarai
Member of Parliament
Surrey–Centre
Alternatively,
if
we
reach
out
to
the
Indigenous
communities
located
along
the
coast,
starting
from
the
Semiahmoo
in
the
South,
through
the
villages
and
up
to
Prince
Rupert
and
the
Haida
Gwaii
in
the
North,
we
can
build
a
strong
volunteer
or
reserve
team
that
is
able
to
respond
faster
and
provide
spill
containment
immediately.
These
communities
have
lived
along
the
coast
for
centuries,
know
the
waters
better
than
anyone
else
and
are
also
in
desperate
need
of
employment
for
their
youth.

6. Office of Randeep Sarai
Member of Parliament
Surrey–Centre
The
next
step
would
be
to
create
a
Marine
Safety
Institute,
that
is
paired
with
a
Polytechnic
School
such
as
BCIT
or
KPU,
which
would
create
courses
and
train
not
only
Indigenous
members,
but
also
others
that
live
along
the
coast
or
who
would
like
to
work
on
the
numerous
vessel
and
terminal
associated
companies
that
will
emerge
for
spill
response.
The
Marine
Safety
Institute
would
train
people
on
spill
detection,
spill
control,
and
spill
management.
Graduates
from
this
training
would
be
able
to
secure
employment
with
companies
building
the
terminals,
our
Coast
Guard,
or
become
"Volunteer
Marine
Stewards".
We
also
encourage
that
the
government
explore
creating
a
Reserve
Marine
Stewardship
Unit
that
would
be
paid
when
asked
to
train,
when
called
to
action,
and
when
semi-­‐annually
updating
their
training.
This
would
create
a
large
reserve
team
of
first
responders
to
spills
that
would
not
have
to
be
paid
full-­‐time,
but
would
be
able
to
react
faster
and
efficiently
when
called
upon.
Their
training
should
be
subsidized
wholly
by
the
terminal
and
pipeline
operators
and
the
GOC.
The
Institute
should
be
built
and
funded
by
the
companies
wishing
to
operate
these
new
facilities
with
some
support
from
the
GOC.
This
Institute
should
be
highly
visible
and
in
a
prominent
location,
preferably
along
the
coast
or
near
a
port
and
should
provide
the
best
training
so
that
it
is
recognized
internationally.
It
should
attract
not
only
local
students
or
employees
seeking
such
training,
but
also
employees
and
students
from
around
the
world.

7. Office of Randeep Sarai
Member of Parliament
Surrey–Centre
II. Marine
Research
and
Stewardship
Centre
of
Excellence
Whereas
the
Institute
would
train
and
give
skills,
the
Marine
Research
and
Stewardship
Centre
should
be
an
innovation
centre,
affiliated
with
a
University
such
as
SFU,
and
become
a
place
where
people
research
better
prevention
methods,
safe
carriage
of
natural
resources
and
spill
management
and
clean-­‐up
technologies.
Again,
this
should
be
co-­‐funded
by
the
proponents
of
the
projects
and
GOC.
Similarly,
it
should
also
be
situated
in
a
highly
visible
location
so
that
young
people
interested
in
this
field
become
aware
of
it.

8. Office of Randeep Sarai
Member of Parliament
Surrey–Centre
III. Coordinated
Marine
Command
Centre
We
believe
a
marine
strategy
should
be
co-­‐ordinated
by
one
agency
or
department
and
through
a
command
centre
it
is
able
to
communicate
with
several
other
ministries
and
departments.
This
would
mean
that
the
Coast
Guard,
Navy,
private
port
companies
and
terminals,
and
the
Coastal
Indigenous
Communities
would
be
coordinated
through
a
centralized
Command
Centre
that
would
be
able
to
rapidly
identify,
contain,
and
react
to
any
incident
that
may
occur.
Currently,
neither
our
Navy
nor
Coast
Guard
is
able
to
reach
many
parts
of
the
Pacific
Coast
for
a
number
of
hours
(in
many
cases
more
than
12-­‐14
hours),
therefore,
a
need
for
additional
resources
exists
and
would
be
very
helpful.
The
Command
Centre
should
be
located
near
the
Burrard
Inlet
and
function
as
a
state
of
the
art
facility,
capable
of
observing
ship
movement
along
the
coast,
able
to
receive
and
provide
communication
when
trouble
with
a
ship
or
a
spill
is
detected,
and
immediately
dispatch
a
volunteer
team
or
spill
management
team
to
the
affected
area.
This
structure
should
have
clear
delineation
of
power
as
to
who
does
what
and
when.

9. Office of Randeep Sarai
Member of Parliament
Surrey–Centre
Summary
We
must
formulate
a
detailed
strategy
for
the
BC
Coast
that
addresses
marine
safety
through
advanced
training,
education,
coordination,
and
community
buy-­‐in.
This
can
only
be
done
if
we
have
a
well
planned,
coordinated,
and
proactive
plan,
that
insures
the
opportunity
for
our
constituents
to
earn
the
trust
of
our
government.
It
must
also
ensure
safe
waterways
for
generations
to
come
while
also
allowing
our
resources
to
get
to
the
market
safely
and
efficiently.
Additionally,
this
involves
giving
training,
skills,
and
equipment
to
communities
living
on
the
Coast,
including
Indigenous
communities,
equivalent
to
a
"Volunteer
Fire
Department"
or
"Reservists"
as
stated
above.
Those
wishing
to
participate
would
not
only
get
training
to
identify
and
react
to
any
marine
tanker
traffic
incident,
but
those
young
people
would
also
acquire
skills
that
are
necessary
for
employment
in
the
various
private
companies
or
government
departments,
including
the
Coast
Guard
or
Navy.
In
all,
the
training
would
allow
for
benefit
in
providing
skills,
being
an
employment
incubator,
and
contributing
to
a
marine
safety
strategy.
In
addition
to
the
Navy
and
Coast
Guard,
private
companies
who
are
planning
to
build
the
terminals
should
be
invited
to
contribute
to
the
equipment
and
training,
including
training
the
coastal
communities
and
thus
getting
their
contribution
to
fund
the
program.
While
this
may
be
in
play,
it
is
imperative
that
the
government
formalize
this
and
share
it
with
the
public
to
give
them
confidence
that
marine
safety
of
our
coasts
is
a
top
priority,
all
stakeholders
are
involved,
and
the
employment
opportunities
will
be
beyond
the
oil
and
gas
sectors.