Mother of missing Labrador fisherman continues call for better search and rescue resources

One mother's plea with the province to include more search and rescue resources in Labrador has her starting a coalition to keep the pressure on the government.

Jeanette Russell is the mother of Marc Russell, who disappeared off the coast of Mary's Harbour with crewmate Joey Jenkinsaboard his fishing boat the Island Ladyjust over a year ago.

"Labrador has twice the amount of coastline as the island portion of Newfoundland. It has three times the land mass compared to the Island of Newfoundland," Russell told CBC News on Tuesday.

"Yetwhen you look at the distribution of search and rescue assetsin the province, you have 11 assets based in Newfoundland, four fast-rescue crafts based in Newfoundland, and you have nothing in Labrador."

Russell wants to see a federal inquiry into fishing vessel safety and wantsSAR agencies tomake improvements to theiroperations in terms of who is responsible for what areas of a search effort.

Second, she wants 5 Wing Goose Bay a Canadian Air Force base elevated to the status of a primary search and rescue unit.

She'll be bringing up these pointsat theN.L. Fish Harvesters Safety Association's symposium in St. John's on Wednesday, where she is giving a keynote speech.

"Right now, 5 Wing Goose Bayserves as a secondary search and rescue unit, which I feel is insufficient and unwarranted," said Russell.

"The only resource we have to secure our safety in Labrador, that isbased in Labrador, is a secondary search and rescue unit."

In August, federal Defence MinisterAnita Anandvisited 5 Wing Goose Bay for an unrelated announcement, leaving groups disappointed by a lack of commitmentfrom the federal government to improve search and rescue resources inthe Big Land.

At the time, AnandsaidCanadian Armed Forces unitscan back up designated search and rescue teams if they're available, suitable and capable.

She pointed to provincial and territorial governments as havingprimary responsibility for ground search and rescue teams.

Russell disagrees withAnand.

"As the mother who has lost a child at sea, I would definitely say it's not adequate," she said.

"A secondary search and rescue unit does not have the accountability to always be able to respond."

That's why Russell says she'sstarting her own group,called the Labrador Coalition for Search and Rescue,to keep the pressure on the government.

"We need and active voice. We need a loud voice to rectify what is glaringly, ignorantly absent in Labrador when it comes to search and rescue," she said.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government boosted funding in its budgetthis year for the Newfoundland and Labrador Search and Rescue Association. The provinceallocated $1 millionin response torecommendations made during theinquiry into ground search and rescue operationslast fall.

Thatfunding is a sharpincrease from the $191,000the volunteer organization had receivedin previous years.

Russell acknowledged theadditional money forground search and rescue efforts but said a federalinquiry into fishing vessel safety would have anadded impacton search and rescue changes for Labrador.

"I feel every commercial vessel in Canada should have a personal locator beacon requirement. Right now, the inshore fleet is not required by Transport Canada to have apersonal locator beacon," she said.

"When these vessels go missing, as was the case with the Island Lady, they have no way of locating that vessel."

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