Canadian Coast Guard

Voluntary Assistance

Although the Coast Guard ships and inshore lifeboats are manned by government seamen, the life-saving tradition is by no means confined to the professional. It is essential, particularly in cases involving small craft from scattered communities, that the rescue organization be quickly and accurately informed on matters which can only be obtained locally and which may be subject to constant change. Coast Guard volunteer rescue agents, numbering many hundreds of people throughout Canada, were therefore appointed by the Department, on the recommendation of the Coast Guard rescue officer of the area concerned, beginning in 1963. These agents serve without remuneration in the co-ordination of local voluntary aid according to their various opportunities and facilities. They may be men or women from any walk of life ranging from leading members of a fishing or marine community, having a direct interest in the safety of vessels and some measure of self-contained rescue capability, to storekeepers, teachers, telephone operators or retired people able to play an invaluable part in the communications system. The services rendered include the reporting of incidents as they may arise, response to calls from the rescue centre as to the whereabouts of missing craft, keeping in touch with families or next of kin who may have direct information, or alerting crews of local vessels as to the help they can render. In recognition of these services, and to identify the local holder of the appointment, volunteer rescue agents are awarded a metal plaque for display outside their house or place of business which then becomes the local search and rescue post. Coast Guard rescue officers visit these posts from time to time to ensure that the volunteer agents are kept informed on all matters affecting their obligations. In addition to the plaque, the volunteer rescue agents are presented with a badge bearing the insignia of the Canadian Coast Guard, of which they are an important part.

In places where there are a large number of pleasure boats, voluntary Coast Guard "search masters" are appointed on the nomination of their yacht club or boating organization and the recommendation of the Coast Guard rescue officer. Search masters are owners of suitable motor craft, fitted with radio telephone, who have volunteered to take part in search and rescue duties as opportunity may dictate, or as the Coast Guard rescue officer may request. Their responsibility is limited to occasions when they are in effective control of their boats and are available to proceed at short notice. The volunteer search master, like the volunteer rescue agent, is unpaid and receives no expenses of any kind but, as a distinguishing symbol, he is presented with an official pendant, blue and white with the red maple leaf and the letters SR, to be hoisted when he is on board and available for operations should the need arise.

We have already noted, in connection with the early days of the meteorological service, how private observers volunteered to gather statistical information required for the production of weather forecasts. Today, in the search and rescue service, a comparable voluntary effort is equally well supported by people who are content to be rewarded with the satisfaction of a good job well done. This widespread contribution, largely unknown and often in sparsely populated areas, is a tribute to the social conscience of the country in an age when individual initiative tends to be obscured.