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Canadian Foreign & Defence Policy  –  Maritime Security  –  July 2004 Who's Guarding our Coasts?   Here's a hint: It isn't the Navy But we could develop an effective Canadian Coast Guard Excerpts* 17th Report, Senate Committee on National Security and Defence The Honourable Colin Kenny, Chair,  October 2003.    [Edited for brevity.] "If a colleague from the US Navy said to me: 'Our Coast Guard watches over the first 200 miles and then  the Navy  takes over.  How  does  it  work  in  Canada?', I would have to say:  'I can tell you about the outside 200 miles,  but you don't want  to  hear  about  the  inside  200  miles.'"           –  Rear Admiral  (Ret'd)  Bruce Johnston,  former  Commander,               Maritime  Forces  (Pacific)  testifying  before  the  Committee. Focusing on Canadian  (and North American)  Maritime Security All of  North America  must be secure if people anywhere in North America are  to  feel  truly  safe.  That  means that  Canada  has  a  serious  role  to play.  Canadians do not have to join the  US  on  every  security  initiative that the  US decides to embark upon. But helping  secure the perimeter of North America makes good sense – for  our  security  and  our  economy. This Report focuses on Canada's ability to defend its territorial waters and help police the continental coastline. Its main thrust is to address maritime security issues that have not been specifically addressed before. The focus will be on Canada's coastal (or littoral) waters. We need to determine how Canada can best plug the gaps in the surveillance, policing and defence of these waters. Who defends Canada's three coastlines?  It certainly isn't the Canadian Navy The Navy appears to be primarily a 'blue water' fleet,  mandated to fight Canada's battles away from Canada's shores.  Requiring the Canadian Navy to  fulfill  its primary  mandate  of  defending  Canada's coastlines,  would,  of course,  be one alternative for bolstering Canada's maritime security. But several witnesses have argued that the Navy's ships are generally too big, too slow and too expensive to efficiently deal with threats in our littoral waters. In fact, officials have recently announced [2003] that the Navy is essentially taking an operational  'pause'  –  a year off in an attempt to regenerate the institution. [Ed:  The Canadian Navy does operate a fleet of Kingston class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDVs), but their primary role is in training the naval reserves.] The Mounties at Sea  –  What does the RCMP contribute to Maritime Security? In Nova Scotia, Chief Superintendent Ian Atkins, of the Criminal Operations Branch, Province of Nova Scotia, Royal Canadian Mounted Police addressed the Committee. He said that the RCMP has exactly 13 officers dedicated specifically to the coast of Nova Scotia, backed up as required by 32 other officers who act as an 'emergency response [team] ' [ or  ERT ]  –  trained for armed boarding of ships. Chief Superintendent Atkins described the RCMP's watch over the coasts, which it is mandated to police, as essentially volunteer-based, with RCMP officers sent out to encourage the public to recognize and report unusual behaviour. Canadian Navy witnesses tell the Senate Committee that the Navy's role in the defence of our coasts is largely 'supportive'.  The RCMP witness tells us that he has 13 officers  to police  7,400 kilometres of Nova Scotia coastline.  Others report that there are  no dedicated  resources to board a vessel  in the Great Lakes or the St. Lawrence Seaway.  From these expert testimonies, the Committee can draw only one overwhelming  conclusion:  Canada's  coasts  are  virtually  undefended. Who is Guarding Canada's Coasts – Does the CCG currently defend our coasts? Most  Canadians probably assume that  their Coast Guard  protects our coasts  in the same manner as the United States Coast Guard. Not so. Neither Canadian Coast Guard vessels nor personnel on board are armed.  For  the  CCG, a  security role  would be an extra claim on its already meagre resources  –  an 'add-on' to a list  of  clearly-defined,  essential roles:  SAR ( Search  And  Rescue ) ,  charting  navigable waters, checking vessel safety,  ice-breaking, and,   especially,  checking  for  violations of fisheries  and  environmental  regulations. Until recently, the Canadian Coast Guard came wholly under the jurisdiction of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).  [ In December 2003, some tasks of the CCG were transferred to Transport Canada.]  Coast Guard vessels do,  upon request, conduct  security  surveillance, and will carry officers from Customs, Immigration, the RCMP, Fisheries and Transport Canada on possible interdiction missions, but this is a tertiary responsibility. Difficulty  Fulfilling  the  Current   Missions When the  Senate  Committee  members  asked whether  the  Canadian  Coast  Guard  has  the resources to play a more constabulary role on Canada's coasts,  the reply was a uniform  'no'. There has been a severe depletion  of  vessels and personnel in recent years.  More than half of  CCG vessels  are  past  their  half-life, and it would  cost  an estimated  $350  million  just to bring them up to strength to perform the roles that they are mandated to play now. The need for additional resources and personnel is clear. Canada could be using the resources it has to do a better job of securing Canada's coastlines. Expanding Capacity — Making better use of  the Canadian Coast Guard  ( CCG ) This  was  a  view  supported  by  Dr. James A. Boutilier,  Special Advisor  (Policy), Maritime  Forces,  Pacific  Headquarters,  Department  of  National  Defence. Dr. Boutilier,  an  expert  on  what  other  countries  around  the  world  are  doing , believes that there is a real possibility for expanding the CCG's capacity.  He said that giving the Canadian Coast Guard a more constabulary role would be the best route  to  go.  The  Australians,  for example,  are currently  pumping   $500  million into a 'stand-alone' Coast Guard [ Coastwatch ], distinct from the Australian Navy. [Ed: Most Australian officials would object to the term 'Coast Guard' (with its legal implications). Coastwatch is part of the Australian Customs Service. See In Detail.] Coast Guard personnel eager to take on Constabulary Role in Maritime Security With  respect to  mandating the  Canadian Coast Guard  to take on constabulary responsibilities to fill the clear gap in Canada's coastal defence, the Committee was particularly impressed with the testimony of John F. Thomas,  now a partner in a company known as BMB Consulting Services,  but formerly commissioner of  the Canadian Coast Guard. Before testifying to the Committee,  he had spoken to a number of  Coast Guard personnel. They told him they would be eager to operate as armed peace officers. They would be resistant to the idea only if  "it were a question of trying to do it with the existing funding." As Mr. Thomas pointed out,  carrying a side arm is a high risk venture,  but so is search  and  rescue  ( SAR ) ,  a  task  conducted  routinely  by  the  Coast  Guard. He called on the Government to set up the Coast Guard as an independent agency. The True Potential of the Canadian Coast Guard During the summer of 2003, the Chair and officials of the Committee met informally with a number of Coast Guard union officials representing officers and other ranks. We discovered that the overwhelming reaction was just what John Thomas had described:  a willingness  –  even an eagerness  –  to operate as peace officers along Canada's coasts and on the Great Lakes.  They asked  only that they be given adequate personnel and resources to perform this new constabulary role, along with their multitude of other duties.  They also asked  that peace officers be fully trained and compensated in accordance with their new responsibilities. "We ask you to give serious consideration to re-building the Canadian Coast Guard to its once proud level, and that it be given a major position in ensuring maritime security in Canada," said  Michael Wing,  National President,  Union of Canadian Transportation Employees. The union representatives generally agreed that it would be a formidable endeavour to  transform  the  Canadian  Coast  Guard  from  an  unarmed  civilian  agency  to  a constabulary force.  But they are confident that, with political will, it can be done. The Canadian Coast Guard should take on a Constabulary Role To sum up, the Committee believes that the CCG should take on a constabulary role.  Since  the  Coast  Guard  will  need new vessels and aircraft in the very near future, the CCG could be equipped with armed cutters capable of carrying all the required personnel, and able to pursue other craft at a speed of about 20 knots, in order to carry out this new mandate. No institution is more familiar with Canada's coastal waters. The Canadian Coast Guard could become an even more valuable Canadian resource. The Committee heard from many witnesses who agreed with the Committee's consensus that the CCG is an under-utilized resource. Commodore  (Ret'd)  Hans Hendel,  Consultant,  Canadian Forces  Staff College: "An armed Coast Guard is a much more cost-efficient means of interdicting vessels of interest close to our shores than the more costly destroyer or frigate. [But] there must be a new policy, a policy that in part provides our Coast Guard with a new mandate, a mandate worthy of the name  'Coast Guard'. " James C. Kelly,  Fellow, Centre for Foreign Policy Studies,  Dalhousie University: "Many Coast Guards around the world possess a policing role. As a matter of fact, the majority of Coast Guards throughout the world have a policing role. They are most often defined in this respect and thus have the necessary equipment and trained personnel to do that kind of work. What would it take to equip our own Canadian Coast Guard with a law enforcement role? It could spell some economic advantages in the deployment of smaller, more cost-effective platforms, such as fast rescue craft and patrol boats with smaller crews. It could also lessen the heavy workload of our federal police force, and our Navy." Recommendations  –  The Federal Government should: • Transform the Canadian Coast Guard into an independently funded agency with its own carefully crafted mandate. • Make the Canadian Coast Guard responsible directly to Parliament. The CCG will carry out its current duties  –  search-and-rescue (SAR), fisheries enforcement, environmental protection, navigational aids, marine safety, and the like  –  plus new duties under maritime security. • Coordinate all appropriate resources  –  Canadian Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Army, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, police forces and agencies responsible for intelligence and satellite surveillance  –  to improve the maritime security of Canadian coastlines. *Archived reports of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence