'Never seen a hovercraft before': Canadian Coast Guard opening its doors to the public Saturday
Hunter Kambietes has one more year of high school left, then he has to make a pretty important life decision.
He is one of 500 high school students who got a preview of Saturday's open house at the Victoria base of the Canadian Coast Guard Friday.
“Coming out here today, I’ve learned a lot, a lot of stuff that research didn’t tell me about the Coast Guard,” he said.
You could call the tour career prep.
“I’ve known about the Coast Guard since Grade 10 and I have definitely been considering going into it,” Kambietes said.
The Canadian Coast Guard is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and to mark the milestone, it will be opening the doors of its Victoria base to the public Saturday.
“We are the marine entity for the government of Canada that’s civilian,” said Capt. Susan Pickrell, senior director of fleet for the Western Region of the Canadian Coast Guard.
The federal organization’s mandate is broad. It includes search and rescue, ice breaking, aiding in scientific research and environmental response.
“The Zim Kingston was a good example of that,” said Pickrell.
On Oct. 23, the MV Zim Kingston was hit by high winds off the west coast of Vancouver Island. It lost more than 100 shipping containers overboard. A day later, the ship caught fire 12 kilometres off of Dallas Road.
“Which was an environmental hazard, and so Coast Guard was involved from the beginning to the end on that incident,” said Pickrell.
Friday's preview offered students the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with many of the organization's more unique pieces of machinery.
“It’s like out of a movie, it seems made-up,” said Hudson Daly from Central Middle School. “It’s really cool.”
“I’ve never seen a hovercraft before,” said another student.
“It was a dream to get into the Coast Guard,” said first officer Gary Nolan, with Sea Island Coast Guard Station.
“I grew-up on the water.”
Nolan started out as a diver but now has a job on the hovercraft.
“We definitely have a need for people, there is no question,” said Pickrell.
Like most sectors, the Canadian Coast Guard is facing a labour shortage. People are aging out and retiring, leaving jobs unfilled, meaning Oak Bay High School students may have a chance at finding employment with the federal agency.
“He definitely has a chance,” said Pickrell of Kambietes.
“We have lots of vacancies and we’re looking for that young life to be able to carry us into the next generation.”
“I’d love to do this as a life-long job,” said Kambietes. “Being on the sea my entire life, I think that would be really awesome.”
On Saturday, the open house runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Victoria base in James Bay.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.