One if by land, two if by sea!

When the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries, tasked with examining the pacific coast lighthouse issue gathers at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre on Saturday morning, there will be a number of Rupertites braving the unseasonably cold temperatures to express their concern over the possibility of automation coming to the west coast's lighthouse stations.

As we outlined on the blog last weekend, The Senate committee has been examining the issue of the future of Canada's lighthouses, having just completed a tour of the Atlantic coast in Newfoundland, the Senators now turn their attention to British Columbia with Saturday a morning provided to the north coast to express their thoughts.

One of the concerns over the morning session in Rupert has been the low amount of time allocated to local interests as well as the short notice that was issued, resulting in some participants that may have wished to be in Prince Rupert to share their thoughts unable to make it.

However, those that can't gain a spot indoors at a microphone, still intend to make their views known.

Plans were in the works earlier this week to prepare a welcoming committee for the Senators, with a demonstration set for in front of the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre scheduled for around 9:20 Saturday mornring. Participants are hoping to get the message across, that changes to the current manned lighthouse pose a serious danger to those that transit our coastal waters.

UFAWU's Northern rep Joy Thorkelson fired off the first salve towards the potential destuffing of the lighthouses of the north coast, providing her thoughts on DFO mis-management to CFTK's Sahar Nassimodoost.

The topic of the Senate committee meetings on Saturday was examined earlier in the week by CFTK, as one scheduled participant concerned that the twenty minute allocated for his presentation may not provide enough time to truly get across the concern of local residents. CFTK also provided this video report on Saturday's session.