Labrador and Indigenous Affairs minister Lisa Dempster and Justice Minister John Hogan are travelling to Ottawa next week to discuss enhanced search and rescue resources for Labrador.

They will be joined by bereaved mother and search and rescue advocate, Jeanette Russell of Mary’s Harbour. Russell’s son Marc and his crewmate Joey Jenkins were lost on a fishing trip in September of 2021.

She made a heartfelt plea for enhanced search and rescue resources for the Labrador region during a fishing industry safety conference last year.

In a visit to St. John’s just a few days later, federal minister Joyce Murray was non-committal when questioned on improved marine search and rescue in Labrador. The provincial government later came out calling on Ottawa to “take immediate action.”