e-2134 (National parks)

Petition to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

• Emergencies on Long Beach are attended by Parks Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Coast Guard, Westcoast Inland Search and Rescue, B.C. Emergency Response Group, and the RCMP; however, rescues initially fall in the hands of surfers and beachgoers;
• On February 10, 2018, doctoral candidate Nijin John died near Lovekin Rock at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve; bystander Vincent Mallaley attempted CPR but Nijin John ultimately died at the scene;
• On May 20, 2018, Ann Wittenberg died in an ocean accident near Lovekin Rock at Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve; surfers and other bystanders pulled her from the ocean and attempted CPR, but she died on scene hours before her daughter’s (Victoria Orr) wedding;
• On March 26, 2019, four people spent two hours stranded on Lovekin Rock before being hoisted, unharmed, off the rock by a chopper; a concerned citizen called 9-1-1 around 4:00 p.m., and Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) Victoria proceeded to task a Royal Canadian Air Force Cormorant helicopter out of Canadian Forces Base Comox and the Canadian Coast Guard;
• According to Parks Canada, 1,131,418 visitors attended the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve in 2017-2018; and
• There has been no surf guard services and tower at Long Beach since 2012.