Canada: An Incomplete Maritime Nation

"It is a sign of national maturity when all aspects of ocean use function efficiently and in harmony."

(30 pages, 1.36 MB PDF)

(6 pages, 738KB PDF)

Canada, An Incomplete Maritime Nation examines the major policy issues affecting the vitality and potential of Canada's Maritime Sector.

Minister of National Defence Responds...

Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Responds...

Minister of Transport Responds...

Minister of Environment Responds...

Chief of Defence Staff Responds...

Navy League Appears before Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence - 12 May 2002

Other Discussion Papers

Comments

"The department is actively considering the types of military capabilities that Canada will require in the years to come. Insights such as those offered by Canada, An Incomplete Maritime Nation will help inform the process of force development that will, in time, define the shape and nature of the Canadian Forces. I encourage you to remain engaged in this process." Full Text

- The Honourable John McCallum, P .C., M.P,

Minister of National Defence

"The insights and analysis in Canada: An Incomplete Maritime Nation will be very helpful as the national Strategy evolves. We would be very pleased to involve the Navy League of Canada in discussions on implementing Canada's Oceans Strategy... ...Please let me say that I appreciate your support and interest in the work of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Cooperation and consultation are key to the success of this department and I look forward to future dialogue." Full Text

- Larry Murray

Deputy Minister, Fisheries and Oceans

"The Navy League of Canada has revitalized its founding mandate of public education with a comprehensive survey of major maritime policy areas requiring immediate attention. Our dependence upon the seas for trade and security runs deeper than most Canadians appreciate. The notion of "an incomplete maritime nation" is entirely accurate. This rational and timely intervention sets out a blueprint for a maritime strategy to complete Canada's development with confidence and maturity. It is a vital statement of our needs for sovereignty at sea."

- Dr. Richard H. Gimblett, CD, PhD Naval Historian

"Most Canadians never give the maritime dimension of our nation a second thought even though Canada's ocean area of responsibility is larger than its land mass. This report looks at the broad spectrum of Canada's maritime involvement and highlights areas of concern that need policy attention. The security aspects alone are daunting but they have to be faced. I encourage policy and decision makers to study this document carefully. This report could not be more timely."

- VADM Peter W Cairns CMM CD (Ret'd)

President

Shipbuilding Association of Canada

Canadian Institute of Marine Engineers

"This is a vitally important report; substantive, timely, and prescriptive. At a moment in our nation's history when our fish stocks are in abject decline, when our shipbuilding industry is in a parlous condition, when our navy is deployed on a wartime footing, and when our Arctic Ocean policies are threadbare, The Navy League of Canada has come to our rescue with a carefully argued document that highlights a curious and dangerous phenomenon. Despite the towering importance of the oceans to Canada, Canadians remain largely indifferent to their maritime legacy.

Fortunately, Canada, An Incomplete Maritime Nation is not simply an indictment of the failure of successive governments to articulate and execute comprehensive national maritime strategies. Instead it is a crisp enumeration of our maritime condition with blunt, no-nonsense recommendations attached.

Readers who dismiss this report as the self-serving product of a lobby group do so at their peril. The matters addressed are of fundamental importance. They relate to our national credibility, economic well being, environmental integrity, and capacity to sustain our sovereignty. The authors give no quarter in their assessments. They maintain, for example, that the Canadian Coast Guard has "virtually lost operational capability". Similarly, they highlight the fact that the Canadian Navy's "task group" concept is "in peril". Without task groups (with their balanced array of naval assets), Canada, in their estimation, "will [no longer]... be able to play a meaningful role in coalition crisis management operations".

Other examples abound--the tragic decline in our maritime scientific capability, our failure to ensure compliance with oceanic regulations, and our failure to ensure appropriate levels of Canadian content in off-shore oil and gas activities. All this at a time when the oceans are under environmental siege and oceanic trade is burgeoning. Canadians should pay extraordinarily close attention to this report. It is a prescription for their prosperity and well-being."

- Dr. Jim Boutillier, PhD

Special Policy Advisor, MARPAC