The province needs a primary Search and Rescue site in Happy Valley-Goose Bay—100 per cent.

That from Minister of Labrador Affairs Lisa Dempster, whose department had a busy 2022, especially with the continued call for Search and Rescue services in the region.

In December 2021, the final report from the Inquiry into Ground Search and Rescue was released with 17 recommendations between the provincial and federal governments.

The minister says a lot of work is underway on the file provincially, with many advocating to the federal government to step up and meet the needs of the entire province.

Dempster say the province earmarked $2 million for ground search and rescue in the spring budget. She says that has lead to further training and resources for local rescue teams. Currently, SAR teams are being set up in southern Labrador, with training beginning this month.

And soon, she and other representatives from the province will bring the conversation to Ottawa.

She will be joined by Justice and Public Safety Minister John Hogan, Indigenous leaders, and the parents of Marc Russell, who was lost and never found after leaving Mary’s Harbour on a fishing trip last year.