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Canadian Coast Guard

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) (Garde côtière canadienne (GCC)) is the coast guard of Canada. It is the civilian federal agency responsible for providing marine search and rescue (SAR) under the auspices of the National Search and Rescue Program, aids to navigation, marine pollution response and icebreaking. CCG is responsible for patrolling Canada's 202,080 km long coastline; the longest of any nation in the world. CCG is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario and is the responsibility of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

History

Formation

Originally a variety of federal departments and even the navy performed the work which CCG does today. Following Confederation in 1867, the federal government placed many of the responsibilities for maintaining aids to navigation (primarily lighthouses at the time), marine safety, and search and rescue under the Marine Service of the Department of Marine and Fisheries, with some responsibility for waterways resting with the Canal Branch of the Department of Railways and Canals.

After the Department of Marine and Fisheries was split into separate departments, the Department of Marine continued to take responsibility for the federal government's coastal protection services. During the inter-war period, the Royal Canadian Navy also performed similar duties at a time when the navy was wavering between becoming a civilian organization. A government reorganization in 1936 saw the Department of Marine and its Marine Service, along with several other government departments and agencies, folded into the new Department of Transport.

Following the Second World War, Canada experienced a major expansion in ocean commerce, culminating with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1958. The shipping industry was changing throughout eastern Canada and required an expanded federal government role in the Great Lakes and the Atlantic coast, as well as an increased presence in the Arctic and Pacific coasts for sovereignty purposes. The government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker decided to consolidate the duties of the Marine Service of the Department of Transport and on January 28, 1962 the Canadian Coast Guard was formed as a subsidiary of DOT. One of the more notable inheritances was the icebreaker Labrador, transferred from the Royal Canadian Navy.

Expansion years

A period of expansion followed the creation of CCG between the 1960s to the 1980s. The outdated ships CCG inherited from the Marine Service were scheduled for replacement, along with dozens of new ships for the expanding role of the organization. Built under a complementary national shipbuilding policy which saw the CCG contracts go to Canadian shipyards, the new ships were delivered throughout this "Golden Age" of the organization.

In addition to expanded geographic responsibilities in the Great Lakes, the rise in coastal and ocean shipping ranged from new mining shipments such as Labrador iron ore, to increased cargo handling at the nation's major ports, and Arctic development and sovereignty patrols - all requiring additional ships and aircraft. The federal government also began to develop a series of CCG bases near major ports and shipping routes throughout southern Canada.

The expansion of the CCG fleet required new navigation and engineering officers, as well as crewmembers. To meet the former requirement, in 1965 the Canadian Coast Guard College (CCGC) opened on the former navy base at Point Edward, Nova Scotia on Sydney Harbour, Cape Breton Island. By the late 1970s the college had outgrown the temporary navy facilities and a new campus was opened in the adjacent community of Westmount in 1981.

During the mid-1980s, the long-standing disagreement between the U.S. and Canada over the legal status of the Northwest Passage came to a head after the USCGC Polar Sea transited the passage in what were asserted by Canada to be Canadian waters and by the U.S. to be international waters. During the period of increased nationalism that followed this event, the Conservative administration of Brian Mulroney announced plans to build several enormous icebreakers, the Polar 8-class which would be used primarily for sovereignty patrols.

However the proposed Polar 8-class was abandoned during the late 1980s as part of general government budget cuts; in their place a program of vessel modernizations was instituted. Additional budget cuts to CCG in the mid-1990s following a change in government saw many of CCG's older vessels built during the 1960s and 1970s retired.

In the 1990s-2000s, CCG modernized part of its SAR fleet after ordering British Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)-designed ARUN-class high endurance lifeboat cutters for open coastal areas, and the USCG-designed 47-foot Motor Life Boat (designated by CCG as the Cape-class) as medium endurance lifeboat cutters for the Great Lakes and more sheltered coastal areas.

CCG announced plans in 2006 to order four new Midshore Patrol Vessels. CCG announced on April 12, 2007 plans to order an additional eight new vessels. Seven of these new vessels are scheduled to replace CCGS Québécois, CCGS Cumella, CCGS Atlin Post, CCGS Sooke Post, CCGS Kitimat II, CCGS Arrow Post, and CCGS Comox Post. CCG is also planning to order an additional five new vessels. The new vessels will have a maximum speed of 25 knots, be approximately 40 meters in length and carry a crew of 8-10 with additional room to carry DFO fisheries officers or RCMP officers. Delivery is planned from 2009 through 2014.

Bureaucratic oversight

From its formation in 1962 until 1995, CCG was the responsibility of the Department of Transport. Both the department and CCG shared complementary responsibilities related to marine safety, whereby DOT had responsibility for implementing transportation policy, regulations and safety inspections, and CCG was operationally responsible for navigation safety and SAR, among others.

Following the 1994 budget, the federal government announced that it was transferring responsibility for CCG from the Department of Transport to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The reason for placing CCG under DFO was ostensibly to achieve cost savings by amalgamating the two largest civilian vessel fleets within the federal government under a single department.

Arising out of this arrangement, CCG became ultimately responsible for crewing, operating, and maintaining a larger fleet - both the original CCG fleet before 1995 of dedicated SAR vessels, NAVAID tenders, and multi-purpose icebreakers along with DFO's smaller fleet of scientific research and fisheries enforcement vessels, all without any increase in budget - in fact the overall budget for CCG was decreased after absorbing the DFO patrol and scientific vessels.

Unfortunately there were serious stumbling blocks arising out of this reorganization, namely in the different management practises and differences in organizational culture at DFO, versus DOT. DFO is dedicated to conservation and protection of fish through enforcement whereas CCG's primary raison d'etre is marine safety and SAR. There were valid concerns raised within CCG about reluctance on the part of the marine community to ask for assistance from CCG SAR vessels, since CCG was being viewed as aligned with an enforcement department. In the early 2000s, the federal government began to investigate the possibility of making CCG as a separate agency, thereby not falling under a specific functional department and allowing more operational independence.

In one of several reorganization moves of the federal ministries following the swearing-in of prime minister Paul Martin's administration on December 12, 2003, several policy/regulatory responsibilities were transferred from CCG to the Department of Transport to provide Canadians with a single point of contact for issues related to marine safety and security, although CCG would maintain operational responsibility for some of these tasks. The services now offered by the Canadian Coast Guard include:

Icebreaking and Arctic Sovereignty
Search and Rescue
Environmental Response
Marine Navigation Services (buoytending and light station keeping)
Support to Fisheries Research (as a platform)
Offshore (NAFO), midshore and coastal enforcement

Finally, on April 4, 2005 it was announced by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans that CCG was being redesignated a "special operating agency" - the largest one in the federal government. Although CCG still falls under the ministerial responsibility of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, it has more autonomy where it is not as tightly integrated within the department.

An example being that now all CCG bases, aids to navigation, vessels, aircraft, and personnel are wholly the responsibility of the Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard. The Commissioner is in-turn, supported by the CCG headquarters which develop a budget for the organization. The arrangement is not unlike the relationship of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police toward that organization's parent department, the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

The special operating agency reorganization is different from the past under both DOT and DFO where regional director generals for these departments were responsible for CCG operations within their respective regions. Now all operations of CCG will be directed by the commissioner and CCG in the regions. This management and financial flexibility is being enhanced by an increased budget for CCG to acquire new vessels and other assets to assist in its growing role of helping to ensure maritime security, although CCG will not be usurping the traditional role of the Canadian Navy.

CCG will still provide the vessel and crew support for DFO's fisheries science, conservation, and protection requirements. Unfortunately the changes in making CCG a special operating agency under DFO do not address some of the key concerns raised by an all-party Parliamentary committee investigating low morale among CCG employees since the transfer from DOT to DFO and budget cuts since 1995. The committee had recommended that CCG become a separate agency under DOT and that its role be changed to a paramilitary organization involved in maritime security by arming its vessels with deck guns, similar to the United States Coast Guard and that employees be given peace officer status for enforcing federal laws on the oceans and Great Lakes.

Non-military

Unlike the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), CCG is a civilian organisation. None of CCG's personnel is a peace officer. Enforcing and protecting Canada's maritime sovereignty is a military task and the complete responsibility of Canada's navy, Canadian Forces Maritime Command.

The enforcement of laws in Canada's territorial sea is the responsibility of Canada's federal police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as all ocean waters in Canada are considered federal jurisdiction. Saltwater fisheries enforcement is a specific responsibility of DFO's Fishery Officers.

Note that the Great Lakes are not coastal waters and are therefore not part of the territorial sea - thus certain laws on the Canadian side of the US-Canada border in the Great Lakes may be enforced by the Ontario Provincial Police or municipal police forces, although enforcing any federal laws in these waters is still the ultimate responsibility of the RCMP.

Command structure

CCG's command structure is also reflective of its non-military role. The head of CCG is called the "Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard"; the term "commissioner" is also used as the title for the senior commanding officer of the RCMP. The CCG bureaucracy supports several functional departments which are outlined as follows:

Fleet Directorate
Maritime Services Directorate
Integrated Technical Services Directorate
Major Crown Projects Directorate

CCG as a whole is divided into five regions:

Newfoundland and Labrador Region
Maritimes Region
Quebec Region
Central and Arctic Region
Pacific Region

Bases

CCG maintains a number of major bases and operating locations/stations on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as in the St. Lawrence River, Great Lakes and major navigable inland waterways such as Lake of the Woods, Lake Winnipeg, and Great Slave Lake/Mackenzie River.

Currently, there are no vessels permanently based in the eastern Arctic, although CCG vessels and aircraft frequently operate there, staging out of bases on the Atlantic coast and supported by a base in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Newfoundland Region

CCG Base St. John's, St. John's, Newfoundland
CCG Station St. Anthony, St. Anthony, Newfoundland
CCG Station Port au Choix, Port au Choix, Newfoundland
CCG Station Lark Harbour, Lark Harbour, Newfoundland
CCG Station Burgeo, Burgeo, Newfoundland
CCG Station Burin, Burin, Newfoundland

Maritimes Region

CCG Base Charlottetown, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
CCG Base Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
CCG Base Saint John, Saint John, New Brunswick
CCG Station Shippagan, Shippagan, New Brunswick
CCG Station Summerside, Summerside, Prince Edward Island
CCG Station Souris, Souris, Prince Edward Island
CCG Station Louisbourg, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
CCG Station Bickerton, Bickerton East, Nova Scotia
CCG Station Sambro, Sambro, Nova Scotia
CCG Station Clark's Harbour, Clark's Harbour, Nova Scotia
CCG Station Westport, Westport, Nova Scotia
CCG College, Westmount, Nova Scotia

Quebec Region

CCG Base Québec, Quebec City
CCG Base Sorel, Sorel
CCG Station Tadoussac, Tadoussac
CCG Station Havre-Saint-Pierre, Havre-Saint-Pierre
CCG Station Rivière-au-Renard, Rivière-au-Renard
CCG Station Cap-aux-Meules, Cap-aux-Meules
CCG Hoverport Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières

Central and Arctic Region

CCG Base Parry Sound, Parry Sound, Ontario
CCG Base Prescott, Prescott, Ontario
CCG Base Sarnia, Sarnia, Ontario
CCG Base Sault Ste Marie, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
CCG Base Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay, Ontario
CCG Base Iqaluit, Iqaluit, Nunavut
CCG Base Hay River, Hay River, Northwest Territories
CCG Base Selkirk, Selkirk, Manitoba
CCG Base Burlington, Burlington, Ontario
CCG Sub-Base Amherstburg, Amherstburg, Ontario
CCG Sub-Base Kenora, Kenora, Ontario
CCG Station Cobourg, Cobourg, Ontario
CCG Station Kingston, Kingston, Ontario
CCG Station Port Weller, Port Weller, Ontario
CCG Station Port Dover, Port Dover, Ontario
CCG Station Tobermory, Tobermory, Ontario
CCG Station Meaford, Meaford, Ontario
CCG Station Goderich, Goderich, Ontario

Pacific Region

CCG Base Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
CCG Base Seal Cove, Prince Rupert, British Columbia
CCG Base Patricia Bay, Sidney, British Columbia
CCG Base PBS, Nanaimo, British Columbia
CCG Station Sea Island, Richmond, British Columbia
CCG Station Kitsilano, Vancouver, British Columbia
CCG Station Powell River, Powell River, British Columbia
CCG Station Ganges, Saltspring Island, British Columbia
CCG Station Tofino, Tofino, British Columbia
CCG Station Bamfield, Bamfield, British Columbia
CCG Station Port Hardy, Port Hardy, British Columbia
CCG Station Campbell River, Campbell River, British Columbia
CCG Station Bella Bella, Bella Bella, British Columbia
CCG Station Sandspit, Sandspit, British Columbia

Vessels: ships and small boats

The Fleet Directorate is responsible for all ships and their manning requirements. Most vessels have between 5-30+ crewmembers. CCG as a whole numbers approximately 2,000 personnel.

All CCG vessels are painted uniformly regardless of their use. They are characterized by a red hull and white superstructure, designed to look like a "floating Canadian flag". The hull bears a 60-degree white stripe, similar to the markings on USCG vessels. Ship nameplates are typically affixed to the superstructure, and vessels are typically named for persons or places of historic (or geographic) significance.

From the 1960s-1990s, CCG did experiment with painting primary SAR vessels in a colour scheme with a yellow superstructure and red hull, meant to distinguish them from navaid tenders and icebreakers, and also to improve their visibility on the open ocean with a breaking waves environment. Today the only distinguishing markings for primary SAR vessels is the large RESCUE-SAUVETAGE lettering on the superstructure. Following the move from DOT to DFO in the 1990s, the "Fisheries and Oceans Canada" departmental logo was sometimes affixed to CCG ships in place of the Coast Guard/Guard Cotiere lettering. This has since been reverted to official coast guard symbols and lettering.

The prefix "Canadian Coast Guard Ship", abbreviated CCGS, is affixed to any major vessel. Several minor vessels such as patrol boats and life boats carry the prefix "Canadian Coast Guard Cutter", abbreviated CCGC.

The list of various classes of CCG vessels includes:

Heavy Arctic Icebreaker

Large powerful icebreaker approximately 130 metres long and is capable of sustained operations in the Canadian Arctic with minimal support, for the period of early June to mid-November, and for escort operation in the Gulf of St-Lawrence and East Coast of Newfoundland in the winter.

Arctic Icebreaker

Large icebreaker of approximately 100 metres in length capable of sustained ice breaking and escort operations in the Arctic during the summer, and in the Gulf, St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic Coast in winter. It is also capable conducting scientific missions, has a small cargo carrying capacity and can carry a helicopter if needed.

CG Program Vessels

Large multi-taskable vessels approximately 85 metres long, with an icebreaking capability that allows them to work mainly in southern waters and in the western Arctic.

CCGS Ann Harvey
CCGS Edward Cornwallis
CCGS George R. Pearkes
CCGS Griffon
CCGS Martha L. Black
CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier
CCGS Sir William Alexander

Offshore Fishery and Oceanographic Research

Large offshore vessels approximately 80 metres long that are multi-taskable to fishery and oceanographic missions, as well as geological and hydrographic surveys. These vessels have no icebreaking capabilities, are equipped with wet labs, trawl capability, bottom sampling capability and water column sampling capability, and can accommodate up to 26 scientists.

Offshore Fishery Science

Large offshore Science vessels that are multi-taskable to acoustic and environmental research. They are able to do trawl surveys and some water column sampling and are equipped with wet labs.

CCGS Alfred Needler
CCGS Teleost
CCGS W.E. Ricker
CCGS Wilfred Templeman

Marine Service

Multi-taskable, shallow draft vessels that are about 65 metres in length. They have some icebreaking capability and can launch and recover Fast Response Craft. They are primarily used for aids to navigation, icebreaking, science and environmental response.

CCGS Bartlett
CCGS Earl Grey
CCGS Provo Wallis
CCGS Samuel Risley
CCGS Tracy

Offshore Patrol

Patrol vessels of up to 60 metres in length and can operate year-round beyond 120 nautical miles, including outside 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (except the Arctic). They carry 2 Rigid-hull Inflatable boats, and their main use is fisheries enforcement and search and rescue.

Mid-shore Patrol

Medium sized patrol vessels of about 37 – 42 metres which operate up to 120 nautical miles offshore. These vessels carry one or two Rigid-hull Inflatable boats (depending on the variant design) and have accommodation for two fisheries or police officers. The main use is for maritime security and fisheries enforcement.

CCGS Arrow Post
CCGS E.P. Le Québécois
CCGS Gordon Reid
CCGS Harp
CCGS Louis M. Lauzier
CCGS Louisbourg
CCGS Tanu

Hydrographic Survey

These vessels are meant to carry out hydrographic survey work primarily for the production of nautical charting products on the East and West Coast, but can also be used for stock assessment using sonar.

CCGS Frederick G. Creed
CCGS Limnos
CCGS Matthew
CCGS R.B. Young
CCGC Otter Bay
CCGS Vector

Special Navaids Tender

Shallow draft, flat bottom vessels used for the placement and maintenance of fixed and floating navigational aids on the Mackenzie River. They are very specialized vessels that can sustain repeated groundings while they search for shifts in the channel and are not suitable for any open-sea work.

CCGS Dumit
CCGS Eckaloo
CCGS Nahidik
CCGS Tembah

Mid-shore Fishery Research

Medium-sized vessels that are multi-taskable to fishery and oceanographic missions, as well as geological and hydrographic surveys. These vessels have no icebreaking capabilities, are equipped with wet labs, trawl capability, bottom sampling capability and water column sampling capability.

CCGS Calanus II
CCGS Neocaligus
CCGS Opilio
CCGS Pandalus III
CCGS Shamook
CCGS Shark

Channel Survey & Sounding

Small twin-hull sounding vessels designed to conduct depth survey operations of the main shipping channel in the St-Lawrence River, between Ile aux Coudres and Montreal during the period or spring break-up until end of November.

CCGC F.C.G. Smith
CCGC GC-03

Air Cushion Vehicle

Medium sized multi-taskable vehicles, which float on a cushion of air, making them capable of working in very shallow areas. They are very fast vehicles (up to 60 knots), which makes them ideally suited for search and rescue, and environmental response where response time is critical. They are also used for icebreaking in shallow waters and in the St. Lawrence River for ice management.

CCGS Penac
CCGS Sipu Muin
CCGS Siyay
CCGS Waban-Aki

SAR Lifeboats

Small shore-based self-righting lifeboats approximately 15 metre long, capable of search and rescue operations of up to 100 nautical miles with a top speed of approximately 25 knots. They carry a crew of four or five persons.

CCGC Bickerton
CCGC Cap aux Meules
CCGC Cap Breton
CCGC Cap D'Espoir
CCGC Cap De Rabast
CCGC Cap Nord
CCGC Cap Perce
CCGC Cap Rozier
CCGC Cap Tourmante
CCGC Cape Ann
CCGC Cape Calvert
CCGC Cape Caution
CCGC Cape Chaillon
CCGC Cape Cockburn
CCGC Cape Commodore
CCGC Cape Discovery
CCGC Cape Dundas
CCGC Cape Edensaw
CCGC Cape Fox
CCGC Cape Hearne
CCGC Cape Kuper
CCGC Cape Farewell
CCGC Cape Lambton
CCGC Cape McKay
CCGC Cape Mercy
CCGC Cape Mudge
CCGC Cape Norman
CCGC Cape Providence
CCGC Cape Spry
CCGC Cape St. James
CCGC Cape Storm
CCGC Cape Sutil
CCGC Clarks Harbour
CCGC Courtney Bay
CCGC Sambro
CCGC Spindrift
CCGC Spray
CCGC Thunder Cape
CCGC W.G. George
CCGC W. Jackman
CCGC Westport

Near/Inshore Patrol Vessel

Medium range with moderate speed, capable of operating in moderate weather conditions in sheltered waters - station mode.

CCGC 6C-4828
CCGC A.H. Chevarie
CCGC Atlin Post
CCGC Cape Hurd
CCGC Cape Light
CCGC CG 119
CCGC Cumella
CCGC Geliget
CCGC Isle Rouge
CCGC Kitimat II
CCGC Mallard
CCGC Osprey
CCGC Point Henry
CCGC Point Race
CCGC Pointe Caveau
CCGC Skua
CCGC Sooke Post
CCGC Sterne

Small CG Program Vessels

Small multi-taskable vessels that have a shallower draft overall and are configured to service marine aids to navigation.and have no helicopter carrying capability

CCGS Caribou Isle
CCGS Cove Isle
CCGS Gull Isle
CCGS Île des Barques
CCGS Île Saint Ours
CCGS Traverse
CCGS Tsekoa II
CCGS Vakta

Training Vessels

Vessels used for training at the Coast Guard College

CCGC CG 117
CCGC CG 118
CCGC Tuebor

Utility craft

CCG employs various makes and models of small craft aboard ships and at shore stations for utility and SAR tasks. Large vessels carry "sea trucks", similar to small landing craft, deployed by davits and used for delivering supplies ashore to light stations and remote communities. RHIBs equipped with outboard or inboard engine propulsion systems are deployed aboard CCG ships or at shore stations as tenders and as fast response boats for utility and search and rescue (SAR) tasks.

Sea trucks: Seatruck 3 (Canadian Forces), CGE 731
Zodiac Hurricane Mark IV, Mark V, Mark VI, 733 SOLAS designs
Roseborough RHIB

Procurement

Many larger vessels in the CCG are close to the end of their planned lifetime, having been constructed from the 1960s-1980s with no replacements in the 1990s-2000s.Polar 8 Project The Polar 8 Project announced in 1985 would have built several $700 million (1985 CAD) icebreakers with polar class of PC-1 for use in the Arctic Ocean. The project was cancelled in 1990 in lieu of refitting CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent.Mid-shore patrol ships The federal government announced plans in 2006 to acquire 12 mid-shore patrol ships for CCG to supplement fisheries conservation and protection duties (fisheries patrol ships) in Maritime, Newfoundland and Pacific regions. It was expected that 4 of these ships were to be tasked with marine security duties in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Seaway. This $350 million procurement project was canceled in 2008 before final tendering was completed with no replacement project identified.Arctic Icebreaker

The February 2008 federal budget designated $720 million for the Polar Class Icebreaker Project to replace CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent in FY 2017. In August 2008 the name for this project's sole vessel was announced as CCGS John G. Diefenbaker.

It should be noted that the name of this project is confusing, since every vessel authorized by the International Maritime Organization to operate in ice (including icebreakers) must have a polar class.

Aircraft

In addition to various bases located in deep water ports, rescue stations in smaller minor ports, and its fleet of vessels, CCG also operates a small number of rotary and fixed wing aircraft. Rotary wing aircraft are used as ice surveillance platforms in the winter (operating from icebreakers and shore bases), while flying maintenance personnel and supplies for servicing aids to navigation year-round. Fixed wing aircraft are used for marine pollution surveillance patrols.

The majority of CCG aircraft are stationed at municipal airports located near major CCG bases and are primarily located in eastern Canada, given the absence of ice surveillance requirements for the west coast.Fixed & Rotary wing maintenance

Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW), Ottawa, ONFixed wing operations and maintenance
Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Richmond, BC
Greater Moncton International Airport (YQM), Dieppe, NB
Iqaluit Airport (YFB), Iqaluit, NU

note - The 3 Fixed wing operations bases are not Coast Guard bases. The fixed wing aircraft are flown out of Transport Canada Civil Aviation bases.Rotary wing operations and maintenance

Stephenville International Airport (YJT), Stephenville, NL
St. John's International Airport (YYT), St. John's, NL
CFB Shearwater (YAW), Dartmouth, NS
Saint John Airport (YSJ), Saint John, NB
Charlottetown Airport (YYG), Charlottetown, PEI
Parry Sound Area Municipal Airport (YPD), Parry Sound, ON
Victoria International Airport (YYJ), Sidney, BC
Prince Rupert Airport (YPR), Prince Rupert, BC

Maintenance for CCG aircraft is provided by both CCG and Transport Canada personnel.

As with any government vessels being called upon to assist Canadian Forces Maritime Command, government civilian aircraft such as CCG aircraft may be called upon at any time to assist Canadian Forces Air Command.

! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes |----- | MBB Bo 105 | | rotary wing | | 16 | ship-based and shore-based ice surveillance, navigation aid maintenance |- | Bell 407 | | rotary wing | | 2 | shore-based ice surveillance, navigation aid maintenance |- | Bell 212 Twin Huey | | rotary wing | | 4 | shore-based ice surveillance, navigation aid maintenance |- | Bell 206 JetRanger | | rotary wing | | 6 | shore-based ice surveillance, navigation aid maintenance |- | Sikorsky S-61 | | rotary wing | S-61N | 1 | navigation aid maintenance |- | de Havilland Canada Dash 8 | | fixed wing | | 2 | marine pollution surveillance |- | Beech Super King Air 200 | | fixed wing | | ? | marine pollution surveillance |- | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | | fixed wing | | 1 | marine pollution surveillance |- | de Havilland Canada Dash 7 | | fixed wing | | 1 | marine pollution surveillance |}

Lighthouses and Aids to Navigation

CCG operates one of the world's largest network of navigational buoys, lighthouses and foghorns assisting mariners on the Atlantic, Pacfic and Arctic Coastlines as well as selected inland waters. CCG completed a large-scale program of automation and destaffing which began in 1968 and was largely completed in the 1990s. The result of this program saw the automation of all lighthouses and the removal of light keepers except for a handful of stations in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. Budget cuts and technological changes in the marine shipping industry, such as the increased use of GPS, electronic charting and GMDSS, has led CCG through several "Level of Service Reviews" pertaining to aids to navigation. This had led to the further decommissioning of buoys and shore-based light stations as well as a dramatic reduction in the number of foghorns.

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary

The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGA), formerly the Canadian Marine Rescue Auxiliary (CMRA), is a nonprofit organization of volunteer recreational boaters and commercial fishermen who assist CCG with search and rescue as well as boating safety education. CCGA members who assist in SAR operations have their vessel insurance covered by CCG, as well as any fuel and operating costs associated with a particular tasking.

The CCGA permits CCG to provide marine SAR coverage in many isolated areas of Canada's coastlines without having to maintain an active base and/or vessels in those areas.

Heritage

The Canadian Coast Guard is the owner of many significant heritage buildings, including the oldest lighthouse in North America, the Sambro Island Lighthouse. The Coast Guard has selectively maintained some heritage lighthouses and permitted some alternative use of its historic structures. However many historic buildings have been neglected and the Coast Guard has been accused of ignoring and abandoning even federally recognized buildings. Critics have pointed out that the Canadian Coast Guard has lagged far behind other nations such as the United States in preserving its historic lighthouses. These concerns have led community groups and hertage building advocates to promote An Act to Protect Heritage Lighthouses in the Canadian Parliament.

Insignias and Badges of the CCG

Epaulettes

In the military these represent ranks, in the Canadian Coast Guard they represent levels of responsibility and commensurate salary levels.

Branch is denoted by coloured cloth between the gold braid. Deck Officers, Helicopter Pilots, Hovercraft Pilots and JRCC/MRSC Marine SAR Co-ordinators do not wear any distinctive cloth.