Fraser slams Coast Guard in newest AG report
14/02/2007 6:53:48 AM
Auditor General Sheila Fraser keelhauled the Canadian Coast Guard in her latest report, saying it is burdened with aging ships and rife with incompetence.
Monitoring Canada's fish stocks are a key responsibility, yet constant breakdowns have kept boats tied to wharfs.
As a result, scientific missions have been cancelled, leading to inaccurate information about fish flowing to government.
"The information is at best dated and may not be as accurate as it should be," Fraser told reporters Tuesday in Ottawa.
"Our Coast Guard has not been able to do any of the surveys on the fish stocks since 2001," Robert Fife, CTV's Ottawa bureau chief, told Newsnet. "So we have been making valuations on fish stock without any proper analysis because the fish stock surveys have not been carried out."
Last year, the entire spring survey of the Newfoundland region was cancelled because two vessels were out of service. However, Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn announced a limited fishery in one area.
Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer told reporters: "As long as the Coast Guard stays within the clutches of Fisheries and Oceans, it will go the way of the codfish."
Fraser said that the Coast Guard has demonstrated a history "of failing to complete corrective action on issues raised in our reports and the reports of parliamentary committees."
This is costing Canadians, she said.
For example, a lack of national repair standards and procedures means millions have been wasted on unnecessary repair jobs -- and in some cases, incompetent ones -- on the aging fleet, she found.
Some examples:
* An engine caught fire after the crew aboard a research vessel fixed an engine without the manual, costing $1.3 million in damage.
* The repair of two potable water tanks that was supposed to cost $53,000 ended up costing $1.6 million in extra fix-it work.
* Rebuilding fuel pumps improperly on the Louis St. Laurent arctic icebreaker cost $6 million
Fraser also detailed another incident in which the failure to properly bolt down an engine cost taxpayers $1.6 million.
"In some cases, it's like teaching an old dog new tricks. You take someone who's been on the sea 30 years and he knows his boat. Sometimes you fix it with a rubber band and a straight pin," Hearn said.
Fisheries and Oceans, which oversees the Coast Guard, said the agency is already at work to address some of its failures.
"A realistic and incremental approach is now being developed to address these matters over the longer term, beginning with a manageable number of key priorities," the department wrote to Fraser.
Security gaps
The auditor general also found that security gaps continue to plague passport and Social Insurance Number programs, leaving the door open to fraud artists and other criminals.
"There are still some weaknesses in the critical areas of security and verification of identity," Fraser said.
It was recently revealed that an alleged Russian spy was able to obtain a Canadian passport on three occasions.
Fraser also expressed concern about "two serious and long-standing problems'' with management of the Social Insurance Number.
She questioned the accuracy of the massive list of SIN numbers, as well as the lack of clarity with which federal departments may use the key identifier.
"This is the fourth time since 1998 that we've reported these two problems,'' she told a news conference. "The government should have resolved them by now.''
In examining the federal register of Social Insurance Numbers, Fraser noted that as of last June the number of usable SINs exceeded the estimate of the Canadian population aged 30 and older by about 2.9 million.
Agencies rely on the SIN to issue billions of dollars in federal benefits and the number is also commonly used outside government.
In addition, Fraser found weak controls over access to the automated computer system that issues passports.
Nearly 40 per cent of Canadians hold a passport, a figure expected to grow due to stricter border measures.
Since Jan. 23, travellers flying to the United States have been required to carry a valid passport or a special Nexus air card, held by some frequent travellers.
As a result, Passport Canada is struggling to cope with a crush of applicants.
Upon visiting passport offices, Fraser found it was "not clear whether they would be able to deal satisfactorily with a sudden, significant rise in the number of applicants.''
During question period on Tuesday, NDP Leader Jack Layton challenged the government over the backlog plaguing passport offices across the country.
"People are having to drive all day long to get their passports and then they're having to wait all day," Layton said.
"And then the government is charging $70" for an expedited passport "to correct the problems the government itself created," he added.
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said Passport Canada has already responded to the challenge by hiring 500 more employees.
"Employees are working around the clock to process applications," he said in question period.
"We've received the report of the auditor general, which also references the challenges. We've acted on the majority of those recommendations."
With a report from CTV's Graham Richardson and files from The Canadian Press
About time this was made public... a continued stream of bad management decisions, money poorly spent just had to be publicized especially around issues of Canadian sovereignty.
Wonder if Ms. Fraser's attention has been drawn to our "quest for justice" letter faxed directly to her assistant Lyse Ricard, detailing the extensive problems with TCCA.
WJflyer wrote:About time this was made public... a continued stream of bad management decisions, money poorly spent just had to be publicized especially around issues of Canadian sovereignty.
This is a surprise? If you work at DND, you would be familiar with the reports critical of that department as well. Whenever the AG looks at any aspect of the government, there is seldom any really good news to report. I wonder why that is...
WJflyer wrote:About time this was made public... a continued stream of bad management decisions, money poorly spent just had to be publicized especially around issues of Canadian sovereignty.
This is a surprise? If you work at DND, you would be familiar with the reports critical of that department as well. Whenever the AG looks at any aspect of the government, there is seldom any really good news to report. I wonder why that is...
It is well known in DND circles that the leadership of the DFO is for lack of a better word, grossly incompetent when dealing with the Coast Guard. When faults are pointed out with the Coast Guard, the leadership of the DFO never seems to properly address the issues, while with the DND, there is more accountability, and when problems are pointed out, there are efforts made by DND leadership to respond quickly to such concerns and point out the DND's point of view on the subject, and what decision making process arrived to such conclusions. The mismanagement of the Coast Guard is truly a sad sight to see. If you thought your boss was incompetent, you haven't met the leadership of the DFO, as they seem truly malicious with some of their acts. The people working in the Coast Guard, I truly respect, for the hard work, dedication, and thick skins to not allow the poor leadership to get to them.
Much like DND, the Coast Guard has been grossly under funded for years and has not been seen as a priority by the government. Now the world has changed and the politicians are asking them to do more and the Gov is starting to realize that they don't have the tools to do what's being requested of them. This lack of investment has finally caught up.
The organization has also been in a constant state of change for a long time starting with transfer from Transport to DFO who never really understood how the CG works. This transition took several years to smooth out and it was, and still is, difficult at times. Other changes include the policy side of CG like Navigable Waters, Office of Boating Safety and some of the Environmental Response group returning to TC. And most recently the CG has been designated as a Special Operating Agency (SOA) within DFO. This constant state of change is not healthy for the organization creating a lack of stability and uncertainty for staff and difficulty in long term planning when priorities are changing like the wind. There's no doubt in my mind that this has also contributed to the problems the CG is now experiencing.
IMHO the CG should be an independent SOA or department severing its ties with DFO who have for decades been accused of incompetence in managing their fleet and shore side activities. This may create the autonomy neccesary to allow the CG to create some stability and allow them to better plan long term for the organization. Let DFO manage the fish side of things and let the CCG handle the marine safety and security side while continuing to use their vessels as a platform to help support and deliver DFO and other government department programs.
The article above focuses allot on the fish side of things but the problems affect their ability to provide SAR, MCTS and other vital marine safety services. If you're a regular flier over any one of Canada's oceans, you should be concern about the CG's ability to quickly respond in the event you have to put down in the water.
Yes the CG has problems but there is some good in that the Auditor Generals report has brought to light issues that need to be addressed.
The CCG has always been a joke on the wet coast - just last week I listened on the radio as a mayday call from a woman whose husband had had a heart attack on their sailboat off Saltspring Island was answered, in this order: by a couple of guys in a tin boat who were fishing (who did CPR on him), a 'fast response' boat from a BC Ferry, an American Coast Guard helicopter that heard the mayday call in Anacortes and an inflatable, manned by volunteers (who couldn't be found at first) from Ganges, the guys that zoom around in donated boats using government gas that are supposed to be the rescue boats now. The CCG radio guy was good, but that was the only involvement by them.
In the '70s in Prince Rupert, the CCG's new Sea King lost an engine and ditched in the Hecate Straits on a reasonably calm day and promptly sank, annoying the CCG who had bought the Sea King for its amphibious abilities - I almost forgot, due to budget restraints, the fancy radar nose cone didn't have radar in it, which was a good thing as it turned out as its still at the bottom of the straits.
We always said that if we had to ditch and we survived, the US Coast Guard, who had a huge base in Annette Island, shortly to move to Ketchikan, would be the first we would see. They were always training and always had an a/c in the air.
We should just put all that old junk out of its misery and contract the US to do our coast for us. Feds don't GARA about boaters or aviators on the Wet Coast anyway - or anything else out here - look at the gutted fishery (pun intended).
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xsbank wrote:The CCG has always been a joke on the wet coast - just last week I listened on the radio as a mayday call from a woman whose husband had had a heart attack on their sailboat off Saltspring Island was answered, in this order: by a couple of guys in a tin boat who were fishing (who did CPR on him), a 'fast response' boat from a BC Ferry, an American Coast Guard helicopter that heard the mayday call in Anacortes and an inflatable, manned by volunteers (who couldn't be found at first) from Ganges, the guys that zoom around in donated boats using government gas that are supposed to be the rescue boats now. The CCG radio guy was good, but that was the only involvement by them.
In the '70s in Prince Rupert, the CCG's new Sea King lost an engine and ditched in the Hecate Straits on a reasonably calm day and promptly sank, annoying the CCG who had bought the Sea King for its amphibious abilities - I almost forgot, due to budget restraints, the fancy radar nose cone didn't have radar in it, which was a good thing as it turned out as its still at the bottom of the straits.
We always said that if we had to ditch and we survived, the US Coast Guard, who had a huge base in Annette Island, shortly to move to Ketchikan, would be the first we would see. They were always training and always had an a/c in the air.
We should just put all that old junk out of its misery and contract the US to do our coast for us. Feds don't GARA about boaters or aviators on the Wet Coast anyway - or anything else out here - look at the gutted fishery (pun intended).
Or scrap the entire Coast Guard, and move all current Coast Guard activities to the Navy, with a sizable increase in budget and manpower.
Actually what happened is exactly what it supposed to happen. Use the closest available resources. Coast Guard is one part of the SAR system on the coast, not the only SAR source. Basically works the same in the US.
BTW, CCG is reponsible for surface SAR while DND looks after the air SAR, so if the helo doesn't show.....talk to DND.
