OTTAWA - Plans by Meteorological Services of Canada to consolidate weather service centres will have serious consequences warns the Environment Component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

"Weather forecasting services were changed significantly in the mid-1990s," according to Bill Pynn, national president of the Environment Component. "Weather services provided by highly skilled professionals in 56 weather offices in smaller areas of Canada were largely automated while weather service centres were consolidated in 14 larger cities. Over time, these centres were gradually provided with new, up-to-date technology."

"Now the federal government appears to be moving to further affect service by reducing the number of weather centres to a handful or less and consolidating their operation in strategically located large cities," says Pynn. "This move will not only be wasteful, given that the weather service centres are only a few years old, it won’t do anything to improve service. In fact, we are concerned that plans for consolidation will reach a point where the government can no longer even meet its legal obligations."

"The government has a legislative requirement to provide weather warnings," indicates Pynn. "Canadians need access to reliable weather information, particularly at a time when weather patterns are changing and conditions becoming more unstable due to the effects of global warming and other climatic changes. Whether Canadians are working in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, in road and building construction or just going to and from work every day or planning a holiday, they need to have information that is as accurate as possible. Even with all the technological advances, large centralized weather centres can’t provide precise and specialized information about micro climates and micro weather conditions which exist outside of the major cities."

Pynn indicates that "not only will consolidation mean less precise and accurate weather forecasting, our members who provide this service will face another round of upheaval and uncertainty. Employees who moved to the new weather centres only a few years ago will be forced to uproot their lives and families once more."

"Unfortunately, rather than considering the overall needs of Canadians, the decision to close or consolidate weather service centres will become a political one with Members of Parliament lobbying to ensure that the centre in their area won’t be closed, at the expense of a centre elsewhere in the country. The fact is, the government needs to keep all of its centres open if it intends to provide a reliable and timely service to Canadians."

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For information:

Bill Pynn, Environment Component national president, (613) 736-5533, ext. 228