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The Iqaluit marine communication and traffic services centre -- which provides safety information to commercial shippers, small fishing vessels and tankers in the Arctic region -- usually shuts down Dec. 1.
This year, however, Coast Guard management is proposing to shelve the centre Nov. 15, because with the exception of one tanker, all vessels using the service will be out of Arctic waters by Nov. 1.
"They basically told us they don't need the service," said Lawrence Swift, Coast Guard communications manager, adding the department plans to communicate the early closure plan to potential clients.
A Nov. 15 closing date is expected to save the department about $27,000, union and management officials say.
According to the union, eight employees in the Iqaluit office will be laid off two weeks earlier than expected.
By closing early, the coast guard may be leaving up to 15 fishing vessels out in the cold, said union president Martin Gregoire.
"The Coast Guard is saying to these fishing vessels 'too bad, come Nov. 15 there will be no safety services for you,'" he said from his Quebec City office.
But this is nothing new, Swift said, explaining these large-scale fishing boats generally stay out past the Dec. 1 closing date anyway. He added these boats are equipped with satellite communications used to contact their own headquarters if necessary.
The union also says by closing before the published date of Dec. 1, the coast guard will put Canada in violation of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.
As part of convention, countries are required to provide search and rescue services.
Swift said there is always a chance that a boat will enter Arctic waters, even after the usual Dec. 1 closing date.
There will also be a Coast Guard ship still out on the ocean to provide limited radio services as well as help in the event of trouble, Swift said.
