Thank you, Deputy Minister. I appreciate the opportunity to address the committee briefly.
Naturally, I was disappointed with the findings of the Auditor General. I wish that we had done better. However, I was not surprised. The findings fairly closely resemble some of the main conclusions that had arisen from an A-base review that we conducted in 2006, and we had already started to act on some of the key issues. I would like to comment briefly on four areas.
First, one of the most important challenges is to come to grips with the observation that we operate as five coast guards rather than one. I do not dispute the finding. In almost every area of activity we do seem to do things differently from one part of the country to another.
A significant first step was taken in 2003 when it was announced that the coast guard would become a special operating agency within DFO. This put in place the framework for the coast guard to operate as a client-focused national institution. Our business plan sets out a number of specific measures tied to this objective. Specifically, we have begun an engagement with our clients to ensure consistent application of our levels of service. We have set up structured advisory bodies to get feedback and establish accountability for our service delivery. We have begun to standardize our organizational and service delivery structure, the management of our fleet, our business practices, and our administrative procedures.
In each of these areas we have identified specific yearly commitments and we are tracking and monitoring progress against those commitments. We are at the start of these processes, and as the deputy minister had noted, it will take us several years to complete all of them.
Second, we have also made progress on the renewal of our fleet. In the last three years we have seen investments of well over $1 billion to acquire 17 new vessels, including the announcement in the recent budget of the replacement of the Louis S. St-Laurent, our largest and most capable icebreaker.
While this is very welcome news, it will be several years before the first of these new vessels arrive. In the meantime, we recognize, as the Auditor General has noted, that we have to improve the maintenance of our existing fleet. We have started by putting better planning and money into this activity, including conducting structured vessel condition surveys, and we have launched a maintenance review to recommend how best to deal with the maintenance issues raised by the Auditor General. I expect the results of that review by the end of the month. In taking this approach, I sought the comment of the Office of the Auditor General before I established the terms of reference for that review.
Third, with respect to our modernization initiatives, we have grouped them under one umbrella, which we call aids to navigation for the 21st century. We have made some progress in this area. For example, we have converted close to 90% of our lighted floating aids to light-emitting diode technology, up from 34% in 2002. We have also converted nearly 75% of our buoys from steel to plastic, up from 51% in 2002, thereby greatly reducing handling and maintenance costs in both areas.
Our business plan sets out specific and measurable initiatives to ensure that we continue to make steady progress. A key piece of the AToN21 initiative is to develop the vision for e-navigation in consultation with our clients. A draft has been completed, and we intend to consult industry on it in the coming year.
Finally, we have put a very concerted effort into how we manage our human resources. The strength of the coast guard is its dedicated and professional workforce. We have made this a key priority in our business plan. The most significant commitment is to develop, for the first time, a strategic human resources plan for the agency that will help us focus on effective management of our people, on their training and career development, and on meeting the significant recruitment challenges we will face over the next few years.
Some of the most challenging human resource issues raised by the Auditor General concern the management of our sea-going personnel. Our ships officers and ships crew are represented by two bargaining agents with different philosophies, priorities, and goals. We are working with the Treasury Board, through the collective bargaining process, to get common language for similar provisions of their respective collective agreements and to work toward equal application to both groups working on the same vessels.
In addition, the coast guard will finalize a standard regional organization by the end of the month and will implement that standard model in the coming years.
Before I conclude, I would like to note the pride that I have in all of the employees of the coast guard who serve Canadians. We deliver essential services on all coasts, often in challenging conditions and in remote areas. Many of those services are delivered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most of the observations noted by the Auditor General relate to our internal management and administrative practices. I would hope they are not taken to reflect on the professional and dedicated men and women who work in the field and who have established our proud tradition of service excellence.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes our prepared remarks. We would be pleased to answer any questions that you or the members of the committee might have.