On Monday October 18th there was another serious float plane incident within the Tofino Harbour, this time including a water taxi. This occurred less than 3 months after a similar incident which also occurred within hundreds of meters from both airlines based out of the shores of Tofino, in a busy section of water, that many of our Nuu-chah-nulth people travel daily.
We want to ensure no more of our people, or anyone else, is harmed by preventable accidents that have the potential to be absolutely disastrous. These two incidents are cause for great concern and we know that more can be done to prevent these incidents from happening again and we demand changes to laws, regulations and policies be made to ensure greater safety in the harbour. Obviously, the laws and regulation are not sufficient that two such serious incidents could occur in such a short time.
If it weren’t for the heroic acts of Ahousaht skipper Ken Brown, who knows what the outcome could have been? On behalf of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council we would like to publicly acknowledge and uplift the selfless and heroic acts of Ken Brown for saving the lives of those in the plane on that day and would like to say ƛ̓eekoo ƛ̓eekoo.
Understanding that the airlines and water taxis in Tofino are a vital service that connects many of our remote communities to essential services, we cannot always rely on the heroics of local First Nations to respond to such tragic events who may not be on the scene at the right time. We know that the Transportation Safety Board will investigate as to why these two incidents occurred and make recommendations.
President Judith Sayers states “We call on Transport Canada as a priority, to review the laws, regulations and policies that regulate Tofino Harbour and make changes to ensure a safer harbour. We cannot wait for the Transportation Safety Board to make recommendations. It is a very busy harbour with many floatplanes, water taxis, fishing boats, and other vessels that use this harbour. I was in the first floatplane accident and if it was not for the quick actions of my son Cole Sayers, I could have drowned. I cannot thank him enough. Now the lives of two of our NTC employees were endangered in this second accident. We need changes now so no more lives are at risk.”
Vice-president Mariah Charleson goes on to say “I grew up on the west coast and go home as often as I can, I know how busy the waters outside of Tofino get. This second incident in such a short time is unacceptable. The airlines operating out of Tofino, which are heavily used by Nuu chah-nulth, need to ensure that all safety measures are taken to ensure this does not happen again. Transport Canada must also play a role in ensuring laws and regulations are in place to prevent these serious incidents.”
Chuu
