Improving SAR Response Times

Transcription

1 NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR FEDERATION OF LABOUR (NLFL) Improving SAR Response Times It s a matter of life and death 2/1/2011 Presented by Lana Payne, NLFL President to the Standing Committee on National Defence Delta Hotel, St. John s, NL

2 2 First, on behalf of the NL Federation of Labour I d like to thank the Standing Committee on National Defence for having the foresight to make search and rescue response times a priority. We certainly believe it is a priority for the thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who make their living from the sea. Our Federation represents 25 affiliated unions, 500 union locals and 65,000 working women and men from every sector of our economy including for your purposes in the offshore oil and gas and fishing industries. For 75 years, we have worked to advance the cause of working people and all citizens in our province by promoting and advocating for a more progressive civil society where no one gets left behind. We advocate for improved worker rights and stronger laws including in the areas of labour relations, occupational, health and safety as well as Workers Compensation and Employment Insurance. We stand up for the principles of equality, equity and social justice and we work with our affiliate unions and social partners to build a better world for all citizens. I believe you have heard from a number of our affiliated unions during your sessions, including PSAC, FFAW/CAW and CEP.

3 3 The issue of search and rescue response times has been a matter of concern for the workers of our province for quite some time especially those employed in the fishing and offshore oil and gas industries. But as is too often the case, it was not until tragedy struck on March 12, when Cougar Flight 491 crashed into the ocean, killing 17 workers and seriously injuring another - that this issue received more widespread attention. During a Commission of Inquiry into the crash, headed by Mr. Justice Robert Wells, (which I will refer to from here on out as the Wells Inquiry), our Federation spoke of our collective responsibility a responsibility to ensure that we learn from this tragedy and the many others and a responsibility that the lessons learned from these tragedies result in better laws, regulations and public policy. We spoke of our need as a sea-going people for the Wells Inquiry to make a difference; we needed to know that good would come this tragedy. I believe that the Wells Inquiry has made a difference. We believed the work of the Inquiry was vital. It was life-saving work. Today, I say the same to you as members of Parliament; as decisionmakers and as citizens of a great Maritime nation: You can too make a difference.

4 4 Sometimes technology failures, sometimes weather is unpredictable, sometimes as humans we make errors. And in those times, we need to be prepared. It is why we have firefighting services with rigid international response times. G.K. Chesterton an English writer and philosopher wrote: We are all in the same boat in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty. With 243,000 kilometres of coastline, more than any other nation on the planet, there is little doubt that in Canada we owe each other a terrible loyalty. It is perhaps this philosophy that is at the root of our resilient history, and our values of caring for each other and sharing with each other. Nearly 29 years ago, the sinking of the Ocean Ranger, one of the greatest tragedies off our coastline resulted in the deaths of 84 Canadians. The crash of Cougar Flight 491, the sinking of the Ocean Ranger drill rig and the loss of some 43 lives from fishing accidents (just since 2000) are stark and painful reminders that the sea despite her many economic riches is a dangerous place to make a living. But where would we be as a society without her bountiful resources of fish and oil and gas? Quite simply, we are a Maritime nation and as such much economic activity takes place offshore and the rest of society depends on this work depends on our ability to harvest the sea. The Government of Canada s commitment to search and rescue and our laggard SAR response times in comparison to other nations has been the

5 5 subject of much scrutiny and public discourse since the Crash of FLIGHT 491. At the root of this criticism as I am sure you have heard is the inadequate and embarrassing response times in Canada 30 minutes (wheels up) between 8 am and 4 pm Monday through to Friday and two hours (wheels up) on weekends and evenings as if weather or work offshore could be neatly controlled within such a tight and tidy schedule. It s almost too foolish to talk about as the old folks here would say. I am sure that witness after witness has stated here today that work in the offshore is not an 8-4 endeavour it is rather a 24/7 operation whether it s in the oil and gas or fishing industries. Improving SAR responses times is a matter of political choice. (The same as allocating funding for prisons and fighter jets or cutting corporate taxes are political choices and priorities.) As a Maritime nation, a good deal of economic activity takes place at sea. For example, in 2010, oil and gas activity offshore Newfoundland and Labrador was valued at $8.4 billion. The fishing industry was valued at about $1 billion. Government has a responsibility to provide adequate public services in this regard. And it is not.

6 6 And I would argue that SAR services are needed more today than ever before given the increased activity on our oceans. Globalization means more and more goods are transported by sea. We have only to walk along St. John s Harbour any day of the week to have this confirmed. In addition, offshore activity has increased significantly since the Commission Report into the Ocean Ranger sinking made its recommendations with respect to enhanced SAR. At that time the Commission recommended: That government or industry, provide for a dedicated full-time search and rescue helicopter at the airport nearest the offshore operations. That there be required a full-time search and rescue dedicated helicopter, provided by either Government or industry, fully equipped to search and rescue standards, at the airport nearest to ongoing offshore drilling operations, and that it be readily available with a trained crew able to perform all aspects of rescue (p. 155). In addition to the increased transportation of goods, and the expanded offshore oil activity from installations, transport of workers, oil tankers and supply ships, we have also experienced in the same time frame a dramatic increase in the number of fishing vessels fishing further offshore. (I am sure Earle McCurdy, President of FFAW/CAW, made this point in his presentation.)

7 7 For example in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a much smaller nearshore fleet of vessels (greater than 40 feet) in Newfoundland and Labrador caught on average about 10,000 tonnes of snow crab and shrimp. In 2008, this nearshore fleet had grown to about 900 vessels. They caught about 40,000 tonnes of snow crab and 80,000 tonnes of shrimp. This is about nine times the total of shrimp and snow crab landings as 20 years ago. Much of this increased activity takes place anywhere between 50 and 200 miles offshore. Today, according to CAPP, NL produces more than 340,000 barrels of crude oil per day or about 35% of Canada s total light crude oil production. In 1997, we had just one oil field producing Hibernia. Today there are three, with a fourth expected by In addition, there is significant seismic and other exploration taking place offshore. In the face of this increased economic activity, SAR capabilities have not kept pace with the need or the demand. As reported by Justice Wells in his Commission of Inquiry report: it became very clear that in the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador offshore our response times fell well below the standards applicable in other offshore oil operations. Our offshore environment is as hostile as or more hostile than any other in the world. I believe that, of necessity, the level of helicopter search and rescue available to the C-NL offshore should be as good as we can provide and, ideally, as good as exists elsewhere in the world. I say

8 8 that because our conditions are severe and our distances are great. In most instances, helicopter rescue from land would be the only hope, as there is not at present the capability to station a search and rescue helicopter on an offshore installation, as is done in certain areas of the North Sea. At the same time, I recognize that total coverage in our offshore cannot be as extensive as that in the North Sea, where industry and governments provide air and sea rescue the totality of which is massive. Circumstances therefore dictate that at the very least, our helicopter SAR response should be world-class, specifically because of our hostile offshore environment. (Wells Inquiry, 2010) Clearly, Canada, as pointed out by the Wells Inquiry, does not have anywhere close to a world-class SAR response time. I am sure you have heard from others why it is critically important to have improved SAR response times, as well as the need for a fixed-wing aircraft to be stationed out of NL. This is necessary as a fixed-wing aircraft, strategically located, can reach a rescue site quickly, assess the situation and provide top cover information to the SAR helicopters. As we have discovered, every minute and every second can count. By the time this aircraft arrives from Greenwood Nova Scotia precious time has been lost in assessing the search site. The Federation joins others who have recommended that your Committee make the following findings: 1. A 24-7 SAR operation with response times that meet at the very least the standard of other comparable jurisdictions in the world including Norway and the UK where response times are the same 24 hours a day seven days a week minutes wheels up rather than the 30 minutes wheels up in place between 8 am and 4 pm in Canada and 120 minutes during evenings and weekends.

9 9 a. Consideration must also be given to improving rescue coverage times; i.e. wheels up + travel time to the rescue site; training and equipment. 2. A fixed-wing aircraft stationed in NL 3. And as Commissioner Wells recommended a formal protocol between DND and any oil-operator-contracted search and rescue. We would also expect more coordination among all stakeholders involved in search and rescue including Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary which is comprised mostly of fish harvesters and which responds to 35% of all maritime SAR incidents. I would stress as we did with the Wells Inquiry that obviously prevention must be our first priority now and always. But we do not live in a perfect world and despite all our best efforts and we believe there is much that can be improved on the prevention side we must be prepared which means adequate and acceptable SAR capabilities and response times. The families of workers who have lost their lives working at sea deserve that this be the least of our efforts. The thousands of Canadians who continue to make their living at sea deserve the same. And it is our collective responsibility to ensure that we do everything we can in this regard.