Ottawa must resume control and Martin direct ministries to come up with long-term funding Sable Island

The federal government is poised to embark on a course of action that will negatively affect our sovereignty, safety, heritage and our terrestrial, marine and atmospheric environments. After 200 years of continuous human presence on Sable Island, the government of Canada is considering the closure of the Sable Island station, the only permanently staffed facility on the island.

When the station was first established, its primary goal was to collect weather data. During the last few decades the station's role has greatly expanded and it now provides support to scientific research, conservation and wildlife monitoring programs and a host of other important initiatives. If the human presence on Sable Island is removed, these endeavours will cease.

Sable Island is administered by the federal government. Continued core funding for the station has been in jeopardy since the government conducted its program review in the mid-1990s, in an effort to cut costs.

In 1999, the government attempted to divest itself of its responsibility for the Sable Island station by turning over administration of the station to a newly-formed non-profit organization, the Sable Island Preservation Trust.

The trust has been provided with some federal government funding, along with contributions from the government of Nova Scotia and the offshore oil industry.

It was envisioned that the trust would use this seed money to embark on public/private partnerships, fundraising initiatives and other means of raising a portion of the funds required to operate the station.

To date, the trust has failed to raise any funds in support of the station. It has failed to address the management issues for which it was responsible and it has failed to promote partnerships that could help to offset some of the station's funding woes. Recently, the trust issued a press release stating that the federal government should take over Sable Island's core operations, which includes the station; this admission of failure on their part is long overdue, and is one of the reasons why the issue of sustained core funding for the Sable Island station has now become urgent.

The federal government must re-assume its role as administrator of the island and its facilities, and ensure that stable, long-term funding for its programs is secured.

Two years ago, a number of people with a great deal of expertise prepared a draft proposal for an alternative management model. During the last year there have been many meetings in Ottawa, Halifax and elsewhere to examine various options.

The federal government should accept that closure of the Sable Island station is simply uonacceptable, and Prime Minister Paul Martin should direct the relevant federal departments to come up with a plan for stable, long-term core funding. The government should immediately resume control of the Sable Island station and remove the trust from any responsibilities associated with the island and the station.

It is time to move forward, and fast.

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Larry Meikle, Richmond Hill