The federal Conservatives say their decision to shut down the Kitsilano Coast Guard station is final, calling safety concerns overblown.

Federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield visited Vancouver Tuesday to announce a $100,000 funding boost for the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Auxiliary. He also tried to dispel what his government believes is an overreaction to the proposed closure of the Coast Guard station this fall, after 70 years in operation.

“It's raised the ire of many people, but nobody likes change. We see this time and again,” he told reporters.

A major criticism of the Tories’ decision comes from what has been described as a lack of due process -- only the Department of National Defence was consulted. Ashfield met with select stakeholders Tuesday morning, but that didn’t include the City of Vancouver or the police department.

Ashfield insists that safety will not be compromised when the station closes, pointing to the fast reaction times of volunteer rescuers.

“The Kitsilano station has an average response time of 22 minutes, while the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue units normally depart within 20 minutes,” he said.

However, that departure time doesn’t account for how long it takes for auxiliary volunteers to get to the dock and into a rescue vessel at one of the five stations in the Vancouver area.

NDP fisheries critic Peter Julian believes that lives are being put in danger by closing the Coast Guard station.

"It's like having a major city where you're replacing a professional fire department with full-time staff with a very capable volunteer fire department. But the reality is, it is still volunteers,” he said.

The Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, which represents Coast Guard employees, feels the same way.

“I'm not sure as a government why they are putting themselves in this situation. There's going to be deaths,” the union’s David Clark told reporters.

A petition against the closure is posted on boards outside the Kitsilano station, where many Vancouverites are expressing their fears about the future. Christine Foran signed her name on Tuesday.

“Every second matters. Every life counts. Every rescue counts. These jobs count. Our voices count. What’s happening in this country, in this province, is appalling,” she told CTV News.

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Peter Grainger