Pt 1: Canadian Lighthouses - Lighthouses -- a once iconic fixture on the Canadian landscape -- are disappearing. The federal government is reviewing the roughly 50 lighthouses that are still staffed. And it has announced that it wants to divest itself of nearly a thousand other lighthouses. We'll look at the state of Canadian lighthouses.(Read More)

Pt 2: Arctic Re-Imagined - As we celebrate Canada Day today, we're going to take a second look at a powerful symbol of Canadian identity - The North. The Current's Chris Wodskou wondering what it means to be an Arctic nation in a time of climate change. We aired his documentary, Arctic Re-Imagined. It first aired in February. (Read More)

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Whole Show Blow-by-Blow

Today's guest host was Piya Chattopadhyay.

It's Thursday, July 1st.

The Harmonized Sales Tax kicks in today in Ontario and British Columbia.

Currently, A communique from the Black Bloc anarchists says they support any law that kicks in anything.

This is The Current.

Lighthouses - Senator Bill Rompkey

There aren't nearly as many lighthouses in Canada as there used to be. And the ones that do remain are mostly automated.

The federal government is in the middle of reviewing the roughly 50 lighthouses that are still staffed, to determine whether they really do need a human on site. And just a few weeks ago, Fisheries and Oceans Canada declared nearly a thousand lighthouses to be "surplus." That means the government officially has no use for them. Community groups, local governments or other interested parties have two years to take them over ... or else the lighthouses will wither.

Many people want to preserve lighthouses because they see them as an iconic part of the Canadian landscape. But Steve Bergh has a more practical reason as well. He has been a lighthouse keeper since 1983. He now mans the beacon at Chatham Point, British Columbia. And he says a lot of people don't realize just how much light keepers do.

But despite all of that, the Federal Government is still reviewing the future of Canada's lighthouses. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has asked The Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans to make recommendations on a number of things - including whether lighthouses such as the one Steve Bergh operates should be automated. Senator Bill Rompkey is the chair of the committee. And he was in Ottawa.

Lighthouses - Panel

Our next guests both have long histories with lighthouses. Carol Livingstone comes from a light keeping family. And she's now the President of the Prince Edward Island Lighthouse Society. She was in Charlottetown. And Jim Abram worked as light keeper in British Columbia for 25 years. He was on Quadra Island, BC.


Music

Artist: Erika Eigen
Cd: A Clockwork Orange - Soundtrack
Cut: # 11, I Want to Marry a Lighthouse Keeper
Label: Warner Bros
Spine: CD 2573

PART TWO

Arctic Re-imagined - Documentary

As we celebrate Canada Day today, we're going to take a second look at a powerful symbol of Canadian identity. The North -- or at least the idea of the North -- is a recurring theme in Canada's literature, music and politics. But the Arctic as we know it is going through some profound changes - changes brought on by warming temperatures and the potential for a new kind of industrial activity if the plans for oil drilling go ahead. And that got The Current's Chris Wodskou wondering what it means to be an Arctic nation in a time of climate change. Here's his documentary, Arctic Re-Imagined. It first aired in February.

Show Close

We ended the program today with Elvis Presley's ode to shuttered lighthouses - something we touched on earlier this morning.

Music

Artist: Elvis Presley
Cd: Elvis on Tour
Cut: # 9, The Lighthouse