Harry Strong Testifies before the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

10/21/2003

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To the members of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans:

Let me start by thanking the members of the Committee for this invitation to appear before you today. The organization I represent, The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2003 and we certainly appreciate the opportunity to address the members of the Committee today.

The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary is made up of 5000 volunteers who make their vessels available and provide assistance to the Canadian Coast Guard in two areas of responsibility: Safe Boating and Search and Rescue.

Every year, in support of our Safe Boating mission, the members of the Auxiliary conducts an average of 3000 Courtesy Checks on pleasure craft and attend over 500 boat shows and public events where they inform and educate the public on Safe Boating Practices. The Auxiliary has also developed a Safe Boating Course approved by the Canadian Coast Guard. The Auxiliary is a certified course provider for the PCOC or Pleasure Craft Operator Card program.

Each year, the volunteers of the CCGA are called to assist in about 1700 Search and Rescue incidents or about 25% of all maritime SAR incidents in Canada.

The impact of the contribution made by Auxiliarists to the Canadian Coast Guard is considerable. The value of the private and community owned vessels made available to the Canadian Coast Guard is over $300 million. The number of volunteer hours is also considerable. A recent study conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Review Directorate concluded that for each dollar invested in the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Department received $37 worth of services. Last year the Auxiliary contributed over 78,000 volunteer hours which equals over $28,860,000 in wages.

By virtue of a Contribution Agreement between the CCGA and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Auxiliarists are provided with training, basic SAR equipment, insurance coverage and reimbursement of out of pocket expenses when tasked to a rescue incident. The Contribution Agreement was signed in 2002, it covers a five-year period up until the year 2007 and provides the Auxiliary with an annual contribution of $4.5 million per year.

The Successful Partnership between the Canadian Coast Guard and the Auxiliary has been hailed in the national and world SAR community as a prime example of an efficient and well coordinated system. A system that has retained best practices, has evolved positively and has adapted to respond to change over the last quarter of a century.

The total maritime Search and Rescue system in our country successfully saves 97% of lives at risk on Canadian waterways. This figure is remarkable by any standard and compares advantageously to any other SAR system worldwide. We know for a fact that the Auxiliary is making an important contribution to this result.

Of course, just like any organization operating in a fast paced environment, the Auxiliary is facing challenges. Maintaining a global state of readiness is a key element in maritime Search and Rescue and one that requires constant readjustments in terms of resources, equipment and funding.

To keep this presentation short, I will mention two of these challenges:

• Expansion of SAR coverage by the Auxiliary in remote areas such as the Canadian Arctic and the coast of Labrador;

• Significant increase in our insurance premiums since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Expansion of SAR Coverage provided by the Auxiliary

In recent years, various assessments by the Canadian Coast Guard (Central & Arctic region) in the Nunavut Territory and by the Canadian Coast Guard (Newfoundland and Labrador) on the Labrador coast demonstrated that the most cost effective way to provide SAR services in these remote areas was to train local Inuit on how to conduct SAR operations through implementing Auxiliary units in these communities.

As you know, these remote areas represent unique challenges for the CCGA: language, climate, geography, distances, communication are only some of the challenges we’re facing when looking at setting up auxiliary units in the north.

Increases in Insurance Premiums to Cover the Volunteers

The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary provides its members with basic insurance coverage including: Hull and Machinery Protection for their vessel and Indemnity and Group Accident for the members. The vessels are insured for damage or loss and the members insured against accidental death or disability while on authorized SAR activity.

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Auxiliary annual insurance premiums have increased from $425,000 in 2001 to approximately $745,000 in 2003, a 75% increase in 3 years. As a result, some of the programs of the Auxiliary had to be curtailed to allow us to cover these increases in insurance costs.

Conclusion

Over the last 25 years, as a result of the partnership between the Canadian Coast Guard and its Auxiliary, an estimated 4,200 lives were saved, 40,000 mariners were assisted and millions of dollars of property were saved.

The Auxiliary is facing challenges: we have to deal with fixed revenues from our Contribution Agreement with Fisheries and Oceans and at the same time expand our services in remote areas and deal with increasing costs for insurance and fuel.

Yet, through the dedication of our volunteers, the support of the Canadian Coast Guard and National Defence, and the benefits from better training tools and advances in technology in Search and Rescue, we envision the future with optimism. Our volunteers have answered calls in the past and will be ready to answer in the future.

I’ll be glad to answer any question you may have.

Thank you.


Harry Strong
Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary