Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/407740
N NAvy AppreciAtion DAy www.vanguardcanada.com octoBer/noVeMBer 2014 25 and its economy float on salt water." The need for domestic maritime security does not alone describe the type of navy Canada needs, because navies offer much more than constabulary roles. Their inher- ent flexibility allows the government of the day to be able to respond to global situa- tions, natural or man-made, with measured options that reflect the will of the Canadian people. This is why a navy is important to Canada, be it in local waters protecting our trade or implementing our national foreign policy abroad by upholding national and international law governing the use of the oceans. Our navy must be able to be an effective deterrent in a multitude of situations short of combat whilst always maintaining the ability to exert force should it become nec- essary to defend Canada and its interests. Understanding that navies do their business out of the public eye, Canada's navy has significantly contributed to the security of our nation for over one hun- dred years. It has always been a national institution and from its founding in 1910, through war and peace, it has consistently reflected Canadian values and priorities. Of the three traditional services, it is the navy that is invariably the first responder, be it defending sea-borne trade in the Atlantic during the Second World War against the U-boat attacks, throughout the Cold War against the Soviet ballistic missile subma- rine threat, post-Cold War operations in the Persian Gulf in 1990, contributing to the international campaign against terror- ism from 2001, or humanitarian opera- tions off Haiti in 2010. History has shown that a navy must be able to quickly deploy worldwide, without neglecting domestic maritime security and sovereignty. This demands a balanced force that has capabilities above, on and below the oceans to counter threats to global and national security. But a navy is not some- thing that can be purchased "off the shelf" when the need arises; it is a complex orga- nization that must be built and nurtured through constant maintenance and ongo- ing equipment renewal. While procurement of navies are expen- sive, they are truly a national investment that Canadians across the country benefit financially through continued employment in their construction and ongoing mainte- nance. Thus, it is important to maintain a continuing program of renewal as equip- ment reaches the end of its service life, even though it may be very expensive. Not doing so can dramatically constrain Cana- da's future ability to respond to unforeseen situations. It is easy to forget that Canada has a long tradition of success in shipbuilding and warship modernization programs. From the unparalleled surge in national ship- building capacity during the Second World War, through the Cold War construction of 20 destroyer-escorts and four Iroquois- class destroyers, to building the 12 Hali- fax-class frigates, this nation has proven its capacity to design and build extremely capable and durable ships. Past and present modernization programs have successfully sustained the fleet, and continue to do so today – the ongoing frigate moderniza- tion program and the introduction of the Victoria-class submarines are both on track to produce vessels that will give Canada an unparalleled range of options into the next decade. What are the likely future maritime inter- ests for Canada? While any accurate predic- tion is impossible, it is fairly certain that there will be security issues facing Canada, be they man-made or from natural causes, and there will always be a role for a strong, balanced navy that reflects Canada's global position. Areas such as the fisheries, environmental pollution, countering illegal immigration and criminal activities such as narcotics smuggling, as well as protecting our abil- ity as a nation to trade freely by getting Canadian goods to the global market are foreseen. Furthermore, the switch to "just- in-time" delivery of goods, instead of stockpiling, means the Canadian economy depends on predictable shipping cycles and countering those situations that would interrupt these cycles – an example be- ing counter piracy operations in the ocean choke-points of the world. Finally, there remains an unstable world with changing threats: 70 percent of the planet is covered by ocean, 80 percent of the world's population lives near these oceans, and 90 percent of global trade moves through these oceans. This is not lost on new and emerging economies, where heretofore non-maritime focused nations are rapidly investing in navies, par- ticularly submarines. Canada must main- tain the ability to protect our maritime interests from international threats and a navy is the means whereby we can exercise control over areas that are in our national interest. Navy Appreciation Day 2014 is an op- portunity to remind Parliamentarians of Canada's maritime vulnerability and how a navy enforces our claims of sovereign- ty. As former Prime Minister Paul Mar- tin noted earlier this year, "If any single country characterizes our blue planet, it's Canada. It's not just that we have the lon- gest coastline and border three oceans. We have substantial ocean research capa- bilities; we are a major exporter by sea; we have the world's eighth-largest fishing and seafood industry; and our companies are active players in the oil and gas indus- tries and more recently, seabed mining. It is only logical that Canada should play a proactive, forward-looking role in ocean protection and governance." Wise words indeed, but to do this Cana- da needs to maintain the capability to react to a broad spectrum of maritime threats – and that is why we need a navy. Capt (Ret'd) Norman Jolin is a former naval officer who retired from the royal canadian navy aer 37 years of ser- vice in 2011. He is currently an independent defence and strategic analysis consultant.