Thank you, Mr. Chair, for inviting me to meet with the Committee today.
Mr. Chair, as Deputy Minister of Transport, marine safety and security of Canada’s Arctic waters is one of my top priorities.
The Government of Canada agrees with the findings and recommendations in the Auditor General’s report related to the surveillance of Arctic waters and will take steps to address them.
Canada’s maritime domain awareness in the Arctic is critical to ensuring the country can mitigate risks and respond to incidents that may impact our security, safety, environment, and economy.
Transport Canada is committed to working with our partners, including Inuit and Indigenous communities, Arctic residents, and industry, to address long-standing gaps in Arctic maritime domain awareness, particularly the continuous tracking of vessels, identification of non-emitting vessels, and the improvement of information sharing to ensure our Arctic waters are safe and secure.
In July, the Prime Minister announced an additional $2 billion investment into Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan, bringing the total investment to $3.5 Billion. Under this Plan, Canada is working together with Indigenous Peoples, stakeholders, coastal communities, and provinces and territories, the Government of Canada in strengthening protections for our coasts and wildlife, improving marine traffic and incident management, and advancing partnerships with Indigenous communities.
With respect to the specific points raised by the Auditor General, Transport Canada leads the Interdepartmental Marine Security Working Group, which is currently updating Canada’s Maritime Security Strategic Framework. This will enable a coordinated approach to address a range of maritime security challenges and priorities, including strategies dealing with both maritime domain awareness and Arctic maritime security.
Transport Canada is also reviewing legislation and regulations to address potential gaps and ensure the marine transportation security framework continues to address modern threats and risks to the marine transportation system.
As part of the Marine Security Operation Centre (MSOC) third-party review, we will incorporate measures to identify gaps in monitoring, assessing and reporting on maritime domain awareness and the way forward on operational flexibility, options and tools.
These centres are a unique example of multiagency integration and collaboration.
To support that awareness, and Canada’s federal presence in the Arctic, the Government of Canada will continue to work with its partners to provide the equipment, infrastructure, assets, and capabilities necessary to support our maritime security interests in the region.
We will improve key equipment used for maritime surveillance by considering options for acquiring equipment in a timelier manner and developing contingency plans to address the risk posed by critical equipment failure.
Regarding Transport Canada’s air asset capacity, the department currently dedicates the Dash 7 maritime patrol aircraft to perform surveillance in the Arctic during the shipping season. Sensors on the aircraft enable the detection, classification, and tracking of vessels of potential interest and marine oil spills. The Vancouver based Dash 8 is also used as required to conduct surveillance in the Western Arctic.
To improve aircraft readiness and repair, Transport Canada has a strategy to acquire a substantial inventory of Dash 7 parts to cut down on the time aircraft might be out of service.
The Department, in cooperation with the Canadian Coast Guard, is also conducting a review of its Aircraft Services Directorate. This review will study capital requirement and fleet renewal
The department is also in the process of procuring a remotely piloted aircraft system to augment its surveillance capacity in the Arctic and is progressing with the construction of a hangar in Iqaluit. This facility will support aircraft maintenance allow for the possibility of extending Arctic surveillance operations into late fall or winter.
Canada’s Arctic waters surveillance is critical to ensuring the country can mitigate risks and respond to incidents that may impact our security, safety, environment, and economy.
We look forward to working with our partners on these next steps.
If the Committee has any questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Thank you. Merci.