A new Senate report says the federal government's focus on defending Arctic sovereignty is misplaced -- and millions of dollars that could be better spent elsewhere are being wasted.
The Senate security and defence committee has now released four reports in the past week. The previous three focused on security at airports, seaports and borders.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made it clear that defending Canada's Arctic waters is a priority, but the committee's report calls the allocation of resources "unfathomable." It says Canada's others coastlines are being left vulnerable to attack while virtually no threat exists in the Arctic.
Canada has 243,000 kilometres of coastline.
"Disagreements over Canada's sovereignty in these (Arctic) waters are not going to be settled through the use of gunboats,' the report states. "They will be settled through the use of diplomacy or in the courts.
"Canada's Navy is not trained or equipped for icebreaking, nor is it the right agency to exert Canadian sovereignty in the North. Draining the navy's already inadequate budget to play such an inappropriate role makes no military sense.''
The report suggests Canada is neglecting the defence of its near-shore waters, with little co-ordination of efforts on the east, west and south coasts.
The report suggests Canada's current coastal defence policy will amount to nothing more than a "hoax" unless serious efforts are made to guard Canada's more vulnerable coasts.
Much of the work in the Arctic currently done by the Navy should be handed over to the Coast Guard, and the Coast Guard's resources should be bolstered, the report states.
The report recommends the Coast Guard receive three large new icebreakers, eight armed "ice-tolerant" coast guard cutters, with the ability to accommodate a large helicopter and perform high-speed chases. Those vessels would be used on the east and west coast.
The report says it's time to "get real" and to address the Coast Guard's need for helicopters to conduct search and rescue operations and to transport RCMP officers when necessary.
The report pays special attention to the Great Lakes, saying security enforcement in the region falls far short of the mark.
Currently, security is enforced by one RCMP vessel and two coast guard vessels, with a staff of 14 RCMP officers and some provincial and local police.
Those patrols, the report states, have "barely enough resources to deal with local pleasure-boat traffic, let alone protect critical infrastructure or prevent acts of terrorism."
The report recommends the following initiatives:
- Adopting a satellite surveillance system that would be in place by 2010 and would provide a "clear, real-time picture" of shipping activity in all of Canada's active shipping areas.
- Implementing unmanned aircraft to scan coastlines until the satellite system is in place.
- Boosting security requirements for large vessels in the Great Lakes, including requiring electronic tracking devices.
- Increasing the RCMP Marine and Ports Branch with between 1,200 and 1,400 full-time workers to improve Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway patrols.
- Purchase 16 rapid patrol vessels, four helicopters and six unmanned aircraft -- all to be used to patrol Great Lakes and St. Lawrence shipping.
The recommendations pertaining to the RCMP are well within reason, the report states.
"This substantial increase in RCMP resources on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway is easily justified considering that the RCMP would be responsible for policing 92,200 square kilometres of water."
