The Prince George Search and Rescue Association would welcome a favourable government response to a federal audit pointing out the inadequacies of the country's search and rescue system.
The local group sometimes relies on aircraft supplied by the Canadian Forces to perform lifesaving missions in the Prince George area and association president Jeff Smedley is hopeful Auditor General Michael Ferguson's report will spur changes to the current system that will increase availability of air support.
Ferguson's report says Canada's search and rescue system is plagued by outdated equipment that has not been replaced by the Department of National Defence and is "near the breaking point."
Ferguson expressed concern about the sustainability of search and rescue in the coming years. He found the Coast Guard and Air Force suffer from a shortage of trained personal, especially pilots and flight engineers, there aren't enough military aircraft available, and the aging fleet is difficult to maintain.Smedley is hopeful the audit will convince the federal government to increase its SAR budget and upgrade its aircraft.
"They want to increase their readiness and availability, and that might give us the ability to get a Cormorant a little bit more often," said Smedley. "The military guys don't do much for ground searches and for them to come to assist there has to be threat of life. This should free them up a little bit for us. If they have more funding to provide aircraft more often, it will help huge."
Smedley can recall at least two incidents over the past five years in which the arrival of a military Cormorant helicopter from CFB Comox was delayed due to equipment failures.
"We've only had to call them a few times but I do know of two times for sure in the last four of five years where they broke down en route. It just took them longer for them to respond," said Smedley.
The most recent local incident that required military intervention happened in October 2009, when a Prince George man had his chest crushed by a falling rock while exploring Fang Cave, near the MacGregor town site, about 120 km northeast of Prince George. PGSAR volunteers formed a line and passed the man out of the cave, where he was flown to hospital by the Cormorant.
Prince George volunteers also took part in the Cormorant-assisted rescue of two dozen forestry workers in October 2006 when they became stranded in a mountainous area 67 km northwest of Grande Prairie.
Smedley heads a 60-member volunteer force whose budget is supported mainly by provincial gaming funds. He would like changes that would allow search and rescue personnel to bill the government for travel expenses while participating in instructional courses.
In the wake of the report, Defence Minister Peter MacKay responded to criticism aimed at the government in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
"We have to do more," said MacKay. "We have to obviously continue to invest in certain areas, but there are areas in which our SAR techs continue to perform brilliantly. We have seen search and rescue coordinators and crews strive to respond as quickly as possible in every incident, in the largest search and rescue territory in the world. With massive coastlines and weather systems, these folks do incredible work in Canada."
