Fisheries Committee on Feb. 23rd, 2016

[Mario Pelletier]

That is part of our normal operational practice, whether it involves environmental interventions or other kinds. Over the years, we have deployed what we called “community kits” in strategic locations. These are containers with environmental intervention equipment to fight pollution. They are used when there are spills. The locations are determined based on risk.

Several communities have Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary vessels. We provide them with training and make sure that they are well-equipped so that they can support us in search and rescue operations.

[Pat Finnigan, Liberal, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Is global warming a real phenomenon? On land or on sea, have you over the years observed a warming trend that allows vessels to navigate an increasing number of bodies of water?

[Mario Pelletier]

Each additional vessel in the Arctic makes a contribution. There are so few vessels that go to that region. There are about 25. So, one or two additional ships represent a big increase. We take this very seriously.

As for climate change and open waters, it is not that simple or that linear. The ice is melting more quickly. This causes multi-year ice to drift further south, which creates a much greater risk to navigation than in the past. In the winter, there are ice bridges that hold back the multi-year ice. If these bridges can no longer form, that ice drifts and creates navigation risks.

Last summer, there were exceptional conditions in the lower Arctic, conditions I had never seen in my 30 years of experience. We expected fairly difficult conditions in the upper Arctic, but that was not the case. Over the two previous years, we saw the opposite. Travel through the Northwest Passage has been quite difficult because of the presence of multi-year ice.

It is very difficult to predict what will happen in the next few years. Thinking that the passage might open up and facilitate navigation could send us off in the wrong direction.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Finnigan.

Now we're off to the next round. Normally, what we do is take a break for the other witnesses to come forward. We have a couple of options here, because the two witnesses in front of us will also be our witnesses for the second round.

We can take a break if you wish, or we can continue on for the next five questions, perhaps more if you so desire.

We have 55 minutes left and at 5:15 we're going to talk about committee business. Between now and then, as I said, we do have a couple of options. I'm seeking consent to either take a break or just keep going.

I see that we want to keep going. Let's roll, as Mr. Strahl says for the record.

We're going into the second round. These questions are mostly five minutes in duration. We're starting out with the Conservative Party.

Mr. Arnold, you are first.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank you both for being here today. It was a great presentation. I was also impressed with the numbers when you said you save an average of 15 lives per day. I think that's a story that most people aren't aware of. You obviously do great work.

My first question is on the changes in the Comox safety station, the transmitter. Does the number of receiving towers stay the same? Is the coverage the same or better? What is the reliability of the service versus what had been there before?

[Mario Pelletier]

The number of towers remains exactly the same. The radar coverage, the automatic identification system, AIS, as we call it, everything remains the same. The number of actual desks for marine communications and traffic services officers also remains the same.

What the consolidation has allowed us to do is to have a state-of-the-art communication and control system that allows us to integrate some signals from the various towers into a single centre. We've trained our officers so that they are well versed in the geographical area. It's a very extensive training program.

I can say with confidence that the coverage has not changed, and the level of service is even better due to the technology that we use. It allows the officer to focus on monitoring what's happening on the air as opposed to doing other administrative duties, such as recording weather forecasts or notices to shipping. The technology does that automatically so that the officer can focus on listening to what's happening on the air.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Thank you.

Recently I was at a reception recognizing science and technology. There was a firm there that is basically retrieving—maybe surveillance is too strong a word—data from a number of sources around the world and basically processing that data to be used, in some cases, for fisheries monitoring or safety and immigration issues. I'm wondering if you are able to share any information that you know of about that type of system or if that's beyond what we can actually talk about.

[Mario Pelletier]

I'm not aware of what you're referring to. I can tell you what the Coast Guard does, though.

For on-water activity, we own about 80% of the systems or the information that is required to ensure on-water safety. Basically, it's our vessel traffic system that monitors the traffic through the automatic identification system that is integrated in there. Vessels that come into Canada have to report 96 hours ahead of time, 24 hours.... All that reporting comes through our traffic and communication services centres and is provided to the relevant agency that requires it. Whether it be for Transport Canada to issue the clearance for a ship to enter into Canada or whether it's CBSA, it's governed by clear procedures.

We also have the marine security operations centres which Mr. Hutchinson referred to earlier, where different partners at the three centres across Canada, every partner and every agency, are collecting information they need for their work, but there are some restrictions on what information can be collected or shared as well.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Thank you.

I'm wondering, on the inland coverage of your mandate for seagoing vessels, how far inland you go. I know there's Vancouver harbour and so on, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but does your mandate also come up into the Great Lakes?

[Mario Pelletier]

The Great Lakes are federal waters and are within our mandate. Basically, we're looking at both coasts, the entire Arctic, the Mackenzie River, the St. Lawrence River, and the Great Lakes as our core mandates.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Finally, what sort of response planning process is under way for the north coast of B.C.? We see increasing tanker traffic that may not be on the inland inside passage, but definitely increasing commercial vessel traffic. I'm wondering if you can give us any information on the planning process for the increase in traffic there.

[Mario Pelletier]

I've talked about the area response plan. That's one thing. As I've mentioned, we are going to be looking at specific geographical areas and through our risk assessment methodology we'll identify the actual hazard to navigation risk and the types of products that transit through those waters to make sure that an appropriate prevention measure is in place, but also preparedness and response.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Thank you, Mr. Arnold.

Ms. Jordan.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much for your presentation. Also, thank you for what you do. Having grown up in a coastal community in Nova Scotia, I definitely appreciate what the Coast Guard does.

I have a couple of questions.

First of all, you're broken into three regions: western, central Arctic, and Atlantic. Is your budget broken by region or is it broken by program? I'm just wondering how the allocation works. Is it a program-based budget, or is it a regional budget?

[Mario Pelletier]

Our budget is based on the activity, the actual programs that we need to deliver. The exercise always starts at a national level. Every program looks at the activity that needs to be carried out during the year and costs those activities. Then it's rolled up and we're looking at the resources available and we prioritize.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Can you give me a breakdown of your employees across the country, how they're broken up by region, how many in each area?

[Mario Pelletier]

Yes, I can do that.

In the central and Arctic we have about 1,300 employees. I hope the math adds up. In the western region we have about 1,000 employees and we have about 2,200 in the Atlantic region.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

You mentioned that your icebreakers are on average 33.5 years old, and that there will be a plan for ongoing replacement of those vessels. Is there also a plan for getting rid of the ones you have?

I'm always concerned about derelict and abandoned vessels. I just want to make sure there is a go-forward to look after what we have and to get rid of it responsibly. Is there an actual plan in place? Once a vessel is retired, what happens to it?

[Mario Pelletier]

We have very strict procedures on how to dispose of vessels. Monsieur Hutchinson referred to the fact that we have just acquired nine midshore patrol vessels. We've acquired a number of smaller vessels. Once a vessel becomes surplus for operation in one region, we'll look at it from a national perspective and we'll look at it from a Government of Canada perspective. Perhaps one vessel is needed to support another department, or perhaps sometimes there could be communities. We've given vessels that were surplus to our operations to the Coast Guard Auxiliary so they can use and support our operations.

So yes, we look at all of this. If there are no takers, there are strict procedures to do a vessel condition survey, an environmental assessment, and so on before they are put up for sale. If there are no takers, or they're not seaworthy, then we're responsible to dismantle them. We had a few older ships that had mould issues and so on. We had to take them apart in an environmentally friendly fashion.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

If they actually go to an auxiliary, is there funding to maintain them through an auxiliary program?

[Mario Pelletier]

Well, there is funding. As I said, there's a grants and contributions programs for the Coast Guard Auxiliary. We provide just over $5 million a year. Auxiliaries are responsible for managing their contribution. They do charity work as well. They raise money through other means too. They're responsible for administering that safely. We help them in identifying where there's a need to have a community vessel and so on, but they're responsible for the costs.

With the Coast Guard, the contribution agreement pays for the extra insurance they need to have on the boat, and also their direct expenditures, such as fuel or exercises.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Going back to the abandoned and derelict vessels, I know that in the past the Coast Guard has had to deal with these vessels if they sink at a wharf or if they have to be cleaned up. Is a large portion of your budget used for derelict vessels?

I have a real interest in derelict vessels. I guess my concern is that resources that should be used for search and rescue, or that should be used for scientific research, are being used to lift abandoned vessels. I guess that's my question. Is it something you have a concern about, or is it something that needs to be dealt with in a different way?

[Mario Pelletier]

Well, we have a concern as we see the number increasing. Whether it's because people are more aware or because it's really increasing, it's something we're looking at on a continuous basis.

You have to remember that in Canada, the approach or the principle is polluter pay. When we know the owner, we go after the owner. There's also the ship-source oil pollution fund, the SOPF, that we can draw from. It is a concern, but we are working to recover the money we spend in those response operations. Some people will collaborate fully. Other people we have problems identifying. That's when we turn to the SOPF.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Identifying vessel owners, then, is a concern.

[Mario Pelletier]

When the owner is known, that's easy. Whether they have the capacity to pay, they still have insurance. These are all things that come into line when we make a decision. The bottom line is that our mandate is to prevent pollution. We will take whatever action needs to be taken to prevent pollution or mitigate the risk.