A newly-formed group is seeking standing at the Inquiry into Ground Search and Rescue for Lost and Missing Persons.
The inquiry stems from the tragic loss of 14-year-old Burton Winters of Makkovik.
The child was on his way home from his grandmother’s in January of 2012 when his snowmobile got stuck on the sea ice. He abandoned the machine and walked 19 km before succumbing to the elements.
(Pictured: Burton Winters, and a sign created for a vigil in 2012.)
Since then, changes have been made to search and rescue response, limiting the scope of the provincial inquiry to ground search and rescue.
Merv Wiseman, an advocate for Search and Rescue in the province, says The Concerned Citizens for Search and Rescue is seeking standing at the inquiry and wants to ensure public accountability in the delivery of search and rescue.
The advocacy group is made up of Wiseman, a retired Search and Rescue co-ordinator, Joanna Ryan-Guy, who lost two brothers in the Ryan’s Commander tragedy, Sheldon Peddle, who was a union rep for offshore workers, Captain Wilfred Bartlett and Kim Ploughman.
Wiseman says Newfoundland and Labrador has twice the national average in distress incidents at sea, while operating in one of the toughest environments in the world.
