Public Accounts Committee on Feb. 13th, 2023

[Annette Gibbons]

I think that, in general, we feel we have the capacity to push our claim forward on that matter.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Does the Government of Canada have any plans to collect new or additional data about the Arctic seabed to strengthen our claims at the United Nations?

[Annette Gibbons]

We are constantly doing assessments of the seabed, so I can certainly get you more information on that if you wish.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Yes, if you could provide a written statement to the committee about future plans for future surveys, I would find that helpful.

In June last year, the foreign affairs minister had a very well-publicized media event with the Prime Minister of Denmark about Hans Island and how we were going to be partitioning and sharing that island. Have there been any discussions with Denmark about surveying or monitoring our Arctic waters in co-operation with Denmark around Hans Island?

[Annette Gibbons]

I think that probably should be directed to Global Affairs.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Okay.

Let's come back to the report, then. Page 4 of the report talks about a foreign vessel that was identified near Cambridge Bay by an Inuit monitor. Cambridge Bay is about 1,500 kilometres into our Arctic waters.

Is it common for a vessel to be able to travel 1,500 kilometres into our Arctic waters before being noticed or identified?

[Mario Pelletier]

Thanks for the question.

The said vessel is an Australian sailing vessel, the Kiwi Roa. It was, indeed, seen by our Inuit monitoring program, so that proved that it works.

The requirement for reporting is done through NORDREG, which is a Transport Canada lead. A ship of the size of that sailing vessel doesn't require reporting. Only ships that are more than 350 gross tonnes have to report to NORDREG. This one was a 60-foot sailing vessel. It didn't have to report, but we did monitor it all the way through its passage in the Arctic.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

If you monitored it all the way through, why was it able to travel 1,500 kilometres before this Inuit monitor reported it?

[Mario Pelletier]

Once we knew the position, through the assets that were in place, we were able to monitor it and follow it.

This was its first journey into the Canadian Arctic. We didn't know it was there. The ship isn't required to carry AIS, the automatic identification system, which is what we normally use to track ships in the Arctic.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Bradford, you have the floor for five minutes, please.

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here to discuss this very important report.

Mr. Thompson, since 2015, how many ships have been built in Canada through the national shipbuilding strategy?

[Paul Thompson]

We have completed six large vessels through the national shipbuilding strategy, including the three delivered Arctic offshore patrol ships that I mentioned earlier.

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Great.

How many ships were built before 2015 under the strategy?

[Paul Thompson]

I don't have that number at my fingertips, unfortunately.

I don't know if Simon does.

[Simon Page]

It was zero.

Since the start of the national shipbuilding strategy, with the signature of the umbrella agreements with Irving Shipbuilding and the Vancouver shipyard, we have built the six vessels that my deputy just mentioned.

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Thank you.

I know you mentioned that rebuilding the marine industry was very important. You mentioned there's a role for small and medium-sized yards.

Where is that third shipyard that you referred to a few times? When will it be on line, producing?

[Paul Thompson]

Thank you for that question.

As I mentioned in my remarks, we're in the very final stages of negotiating the umbrella agreement with Chantier Davie as the third strategic partner.

We would have three yards at our disposal for executing the national shipbuilding strategy. That's why it is an important mitigation factor. With some of the risks on schedules and the volume of work, having that third partner in place in the coming months will be a really important addition to the NSS.

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Where is it located?

[Paul Thompson]

It's in Lévis, Quebec.

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Now, I'm wondering about shipyards like the Port Weller dry docks, which was taken over by Heddle Shipyards in 2017.

Is there any role for these smaller operations to participate in the shipbuilding strategy?

[Paul Thompson]

Thank you for that question.

We have the three strategic partners, which are the large yards. We have a very active program of work with other shipyards for smaller vessels, for repair and refit work, including Heddle Marine and numerous other companies like it across Canada. We have smaller yards, and then many small and medium-sized enterprises play a role in the supply chain as part of the project plans.

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Are there any others that are located in Ontario?

[Paul Thompson]

I will turn to Simon on that one.

[Simon Page]

There are others located in Ontario. One good example would be Hike Metal Products in Wheatley, Ontario. They are building, with Chantier Forillon in Quebec, the search and rescue boats for the Coast Guard.

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

I'll go back and pick up that question MP Yip was asking.

I believe this is probably for Ms. Gibbons.

What are the interdepartmental marine security working group's maritime domain awareness and Arctic maritime security implementation strategies? Have they been finalized?