Three weeks after announcing the Coast Guard's Vancouver dive team would be cut completely, the federal government has changed its stance on the decision some feared would cost lives.

The decision to save the team of 26 divers was announced in Ottawa Thursday by Liberal MP Terry Beech, parliamentary secretary for the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

The federal NDP said the dive team was spared following pressure from their party and from the public in B.C. In a statement, the NDP wrote that the resolution came after "weeks of pressure."

"I'm grateful to those British Columbians who raised their voices against these short-sighted cuts," said Port Moody-Coquitlam MP Fin Donnelly, NDP critic for the ministry.

Todd Doherty, Conservative MP for Cariboo-Prince George, also posted about the decision, thanking teachers, parents and conservationists who'd written to the Liberals to put pressure on those who planned to cut the team.

The Liberals also backed down on a plan to cut "Stream to Sea," a hands-on program that educations students on the role of B.C.'s salmon in the province's ecosystem. The program also includes lessons on salmon's role in B.C. history, economy and First Nations culture.

The about-face came less than a month after divers spoke to CTV News about the team's termination, saying they were worried about repercussions.

A retired Coast Guard commander also spoke out, saying he was "shocked" by the move which he called a "step backwards in conducting search and rescue."

Fred Moxey said the team was vital for the Vancouver area, and that he was worried that without specially trained experts specifically equipped for underwater rescues, those without experience or passersby may try to conduct dangerous rescues instead.

The team was cut by the Chretien Government in 2001, but was reinstated with more staff and longer hours after several highly publicized deaths occurred in the area covered by the team.

The Fisheries and Oceans Canada decided to cut the team again last month, saying the divers weren't part of the Coast Guard's search and rescue mandate, and that the money would be better spent elsewhere.

"Because this particular capability only ever existed in Vancouver, it was determined that it was not core, and that's why it was reallocated," Western Region Asst. Comm. Roger Girouard said at the time.

The decision would have reduced costs by $500,000, an official said, but came just months after an announcement on increased Coast Guard funding, including $1.5 billion through the Oceans Protection Plan.