Reports have emerged which seem to indicate that the federal government will be closing the Coast Guard station in Gimli Harbour at the end of the boating and fishing season. Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman M.P. James Bezan says apparently the staff has been notified that they won't be required after this season, noting that's very disconcerting because there are so many recreational and commercial fishers, recreational boaters and freighters which travel up and down Lake Winnipeg. Bezan says all the communities which depend upon Lake Winnipeg are being abandoned by the Liberals with this closure, adding he and his colleagues will be fighting vigorously to have that Coast Guard station remain open.

He notes the Coast Guard is responsible for search and rescue on the lake but they also provide navigational aids in the Red River to keep boaters safe. Bezan says without that service being provided, transit on the lake and the river will become much more hazardous. He adds they already have close to a thousand commercial fishers who make their living in those waters, with the value of that catch worth more than seventeen million dollars a year. Bezan says Lake Winnipeg is a large, dangerous lake, and when storms whip up the boating conditions can change rapidly, so not maintaining a Coast Guard station in Gimli could have tragic consequences.

He notes the safety of Manitobans should be first and foremost in the mind of government, adding the great work the Coast Guard does is something which is valued not only in the Interlake but all across Manitoba. Bezan says it's critical that the station in Gimli Harbour stays open, noting he hopes the Liberals will reverse their decision.