Canada

The leader of the B.C. Conservative Party is urging the prime minister to keep what's considered to be the country's busiest coast guard base open.

John Cummins' letter to Stephen Harper comes nine months after the federal government announced it would close the Kitsilano coast guard station due to budget cuts and about three months before the B.C. provincial election.

The base is located on Vancouver's waterfront and handles more than 350 calls a year, but federal officials have argued those services can be handled by another base 30 minutes away.

Cummins says he has told Harper that closing the Kitsilano base is a bad idea because it will risk lives and affect the safety of boaters.

The former Tory member of Parliament also says he hopes Harper will listen to a colleague from B.C. instead of buying into bad information.

Cummins says it's just not worth closing the base for an estimated annual cost savings of $700,000. (CKNW)