The Race Rocks Lighthouse, built in 1860 sits on a small parcel of land on Great Race Rocks leased from BC lands. This leased area remains out of the provincial Ecological Reserve. The Ecological reserve covers the remainder of Great Race Rock Island, and the whole area is an MPA designate under the Ocean's Act of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

See the Background History of the long struggle to get heritage protection for heritage lighthouses below;

Debates of the Senate (Hansard) 2nd Session, 39th Parliament, Volume 144, Issue 57 Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker

News Report: by Steven Chase, Bill offers beacon of hope for historic lighthouses:
Globe and Mail, May 9,2008

In February of 2007, The Times Colonist ran an article on the problems of the deterioration of the heritage light tower at Race Rocks.

A beacon of hope for Race Rocks
Carney tries again to win protection for prize lighthouses now withering away, Jack Knox, Times Colonist, Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007.

The Condition of the Light	Tower at Race Rocks	February, 2007
Inside the tower, on the way up the stairs, the walls become pockmarked with condensation blisters	Near the fog sensor, which is set into a south facing window, moisture has caused the wall surface to crumble	The flaking is extensive in the top third of the tower	When the stairs are not swept, there is a continual rain of sand and paint chips.
Near the window where the counterweight is stationed, the crumbling is particularly obvious.	Looking downstaters at the same window. The yellow flag denotes the top of the stairs.	Even the inside of the lantern room has condensation from the windows loosening the painted surface.The light in the foreground is state of the art in low energy consumption.	Outside at the base of the windows, caulking has deteriorated, allowing driving rains to send moisture inside.
Wherever iron is exposed, rusting and deterioration sets in.. this is at the base of one of the windows in the lantern room.	Moisture builds up even behind recent painting.	The metal straps underneath the lantern room which help to anchor the top in place are rusted and partly detached from the decaying sandstone wall.	A crack in the lantern room window apparently appeared years ago when the Coast guard was doing blasting for construction on the island
Crack width on tower Sept15, 2007	Corrosion of steel on railing around lantern room, Sept. 2007

Below are links to two records in Hansard of bills which have been brought forward by Senator Pat Carney, which have eventually failed in the Government of Canada. Six times, similar bills have been presented in the past so far no success in their passing had been achieved.

Debates of the Senate (Hansard)2nd Session, 36th Parliament, Volume 138, Issue 58 Thursday, May 18, 2000

Debates of the Senate (Hansard) 1st Session, 37th Parliament, Volume 139, Issue 121
Thursday, June 6, 2002

In February 2007, Bill S-220 is the latest attempt to have heritage protection assigned to lighthouses. Here is a good description of it from the website of Heritage Canada.

WIKEPEDIA DESCRIPTION OF BILL S-220 ,( now S-215)

Dec 13,2007 Bill S -215

Website of Senator Pat Carney.

BILL S-215 .. Senator Pat Carney re-introduced the Act as Bill S-215 on November 1, 2007 – our seventh attempt in seven years to gain protection for heritage lighthouses.

For the minutes and discussions of the DFO Committee meetings from April 1 to 10, 2008. See the following:
Note.. They are also currently indexed on the House of Commons Standing Committee of DFO Schedule: http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteeList.aspx?Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&SELID=e21_&COM=13188

April 10:minutes: http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=234172&Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&COM=13188
evidence: http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=234646&Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&COM=13188

April 8: minutes: http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=233438&Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&COM=13188
evidence: http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=235344&Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&COM=13188

April 3:minutes: http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=232763&Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&COM=13188
evidence: http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=234575&Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&COM=13188

April 1: minutes:http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=232532&Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&COM=13188

evidence:http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=234011&Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&COM=13188

Of particular note within the evidence sessions above is one quote of Ms. Patricia Kell , (Director, Policy and Government Relations Branch, National Historic Sites Directorate, Parks Canada Agency) from April 10, 2008.

"    We have the two years before the bill comes into force--that's preparatory time. There is then a period of two years during which petitions are received. That's the period when communities have the opportunity to express their interest in having lighthouses in their area designated, and that's also the period when work needs to be done by them, if the lighthouse has been declared surplus, to propose a business case and to come forward as being willing to take over the lighthouse. There is then a period of three years in which the minister can evaluate those petitions.

    At the end of that full five-year period after coming into force, the minister must publicly announce what the results of those deliberations are. So theoretically the minister could start designating from the time the bill comes into force—that would be two years from royal assent—but doesn't have to until the end of seven years from the date the bill is passed. So seven years from now the first designations would have to be announced, and that's the absolute latest." end quote.

Lets hope that deterioration of the Race Rocks Lighthouse won't proceed too rapidly!