Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced the start of construction Wednesday on a new Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue station in James Bay.
The $3.4-million station near Dallas Road and Simcoe Street is scheduled to open in 2020 and house two four-person crews.
The coast guard has been providing 24-hour service from a temporary location on its Victoria base since June 2018.
So far, crews have responded to more than 80 search and rescue incidents and received 150 assignments in support of other Coast Guard duties.
The new station will include living quarters for on-call crew members as well as first aid, training and operations rooms.
