4 people set to lose jobs as Cartwright weather station automates

Four people will lose their jobs when Nav Canada automates the weather station in Cartwright later this year.

Automated systems are being brought in to small airports across the country, and the change in the Labrador community comes after the company finished a feasibility study of the station.  

Mayor Dwight Lethbridge says it's a horrible situation.

"This town relies heavily on seasonal work and to have four jobs … year-round was a wonderful thing," he said.

Sharon Martin has been working at the station as a weather observer for 34 years, ever since it opened in 1984.

"In a community this size that's losing so much, that's another blow to us," she said.

"When I started, years ago, we had to do everything," she said.  "Everything was manual calculations and all that."

Now, she says, they only monitor the sky conditions and visibility, and measure precipitation.

"We get calls for temperature, winds especially," Martin said. "Not as much as we used to, because there's more access with the internet and all this, right? There's more access to forecasts and stuff like that."

There's also a new road through Southern Labrador.

With the opening of the Trans-Labrador Highway, the community has seen a decrease in air traffic.

The station's priority is the safety of pilots and planes, so neither Martin nor her co-worker Robyn Holwell are surprised by the change.  

Holwell has worked there for 19 years, and says even though he's been expecting the closure for months, the news still hit him hard.

Being a father of two, it won't be easy for him to move on.

"When I got the news, I was quite upset at first," he said. "I literally sat down and cried for a minute or two."

A spokesperson for Nav Canada says the company consulted with, among others, three airlines operating in Labrador, the provincial government and Transport Canada.

The automatic system will be located near the airport in Cartwright, and will include new webcam views of the airstrip, so pilots can check the conditions anytime.

Once the station is automated, pilots will get the current weather conditions read to them over the phone.

Meanwhile, Holwell doesn't know what he's going to do after he loses his job.

"It'll take some getting used to, that's for sure," said Holwell, adding he might go back to college.

Martin agrees it will be tough.

"I don't know what I'll do, but I'm hoping I'm gonna pick up something here after a while or whatever, because I can't just sit home and do nothing."