Senate Committee for National Security and Defence
BACKGROUND BRIEF – OGD COOPERATION IN ATLANTIC REGION
Issue
1. Discuss how Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and several other federal government departments have maintained and enhanced relationships in order to effectively coordinate responses to security issues.
Discussion
2.
There are three levels of relationships that describe liaison between the
Navy and other government departments (OGDs): strategic, operational and
tactical. The liaison at every
level encompasses many types of issues, including those of security.
At the strategic level, for example, the Navy is a member of the
Ottawa-based Interdepartmental Marine Security Working Group (IMSWG) and is part
of that body’s efforts to enhance security within the maritime environment.
The operational and tactical relationships with OGDs are maintained on
the east and west coasts by the various staffs of both MARLANT and Maritime
Forces Pacific (MARPAC).
3.
At the operational level, MARLANT is a participant in numerous formal and
ad hoc committees (described below) that deal with maritime issues,
although only a few of those committees deal with security issues.
What makes MARLANT unique in comparison to other federal government
departments in the Atlantic Region is the large Area of Responsibility (AOR)
assigned to Commander MARLANT. The
AOR stretches several hundred miles out into the North Atlantic, northward
through the Davis Strait to the North Pole and westward to ninety-five degrees
west longitude where the Commander MARPAC assumes responsibility within Canadian
waters. MARLANT’s focus tends to
be on the whole of its AOR, whereas other federal departments are largely
interested in either the Atlantic Region or some smaller area, as in the case of
any of the four RCMP Divisions in Atlantic Canada.
Additionally, more than any other department, and inherent to military
operations, MARLANT has the capability to process the many sources of
information regarding maritime issues and bring it together into the Recognized
Maritime Picture (RMP) – a snapshot of what is happening in the waters off the
east coast of Canada.
4.
A wide variety of tactical relationships occur at the local level within
MARLANT. For example, the Military
Police routinely work with their civilian counterparts and maintain excellent
relationships. Additionally, the
Base Commander in Halifax has close ties to the Halifax Regional Municipality
for issues such as nuclear emergency response for visiting nuclear-powered
vessels or environmental incident response through the MARLANT’s environment
branch.
5.
Within any of these three levels can be described four types of
relationship: intelligence and operational, proactive and reactive. The next section will explain these further, focussing
primarily on those relationships that exist at the operational level.
Intelligence versus Operational Response
6. Within MARLANT there are both intelligence and operational ties to OGDs and to other nations. TRINITY Joint Ocean Surveillance and Information Centre is the intelligence link to wide variety of information sources. Nationally, these include the intelligence sections of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the RCMP. Internationally, TRINITY has well-established links to agencies such as the United States Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence, the United States Coast Guard First Division (Boston) and the Joint Integrated Agency Task Force (JIATF) for international counter-drug interdiction issues. While the intelligence processing capability is a key component to the cooperation MARLANT enjoys with other departments, it is, however, only part of the equation, for at some point intelligence information may require an operational response. MARLANT’s Plans and Operations staff act upon intelligence provided by TRINITY and shape the operational level response to a given situation. Just as important, therefore, are the relationships that exist between MARLANT’s operations branch and the operational arms of any number of federal departments.
Proactive
Relationships
7.
Proactive relationships take many forms and occur as part of normal daily
activities within MARLANT’s Plans and Operations branch.
Longstanding relationships have ensured that lines of communication
remain open so that contact can be easily made when situations arise.
These relationships have been created through day-to-day liaison, through
participation in committees and through various local and regional exercises.
These relationships are also internal and MARLANT maintains close ties
with the Dwyer Hill Training Centre to assist in Maritime Counter-terrorism
exercise planning and operational execution.
8.
The following are examples of the day-to-day liaisons that occur:
a.
liaison with the Fisheries and Ocean Canada to coordinate MARLANT support
to annual fishery patrols in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding;
b.
liaison with the Oceans Management Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada;
MARLANT provides surveillance information to assist with the management of The
proposed Sable Gully Marine Protected Area;
c.
liaison with Environment Canada for assistance in detecting and
investigating pollution incidents. MARLANT
vessels have also carried Canadian Wildlife Service scientists during fishery
patrols to assist with ongoing pelagic bird surveys;
d.
liaison with the RCMP to provide support for counter-narcotics operations
in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding.
MARLANT also provides logistical support in the form of transportation to
assist the RCMP with its Coastal Watch program;
e.
liaison with Health Canada. MARLANT’s
Nuclear Emergency Response Team liaises with Health Canada during visits to
Halifax by nuclear-powered vessels; and
f.
liaison with various agencies for joint security efforts such as the G7
Finance Ministers Conference.
9.
While MARLANT is a participant in a number of regional committees, only
those that related security issues will be highlighted here:
a.
Nova Scotia Federal Council Security
Committee. This ad hoc committee meets periodically at the
Regional Director level to discuss a broad range of security-related issues,
including maritime security. In the
aftermath of September11, 2001, it was this committee that recognized that the
federal departments in the Atlantic Region had to improve their ability to work
together in order to respond to future security incidents.
This committee championed a number of exercises, the most notable named
Exercise ATLANTIC GUARD (discussed further in paragraph 10); and
b.
Eastern Canada Interdepartmental Marine Operations Committee (ECIMOC).
ECIMOC is the successor of the Atlantic Operations Sub-Committee, which
was a regional committee established in 1991under the auspices of the
Interdepartmental Program Coordination and Review Committee (IPCRC).
ECIMOC is made up of federal departments that either conduct, or have an
interest in, operations in the maritime environment. One of the key aims of this committee is to Identify and
develop the most practical means of applying operational resources to facilitate
joint and effective employment.
Principal
members include MARLANT (the current chair), Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(representatives from both the Canadian Coast Guard Maritimes and Newfoundland
and Labrador Regions as well as representatives from various sections of
Fisheries and Oceans Management), the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency,
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Transport Canada and Environment Canada.
At the most recent meeting in May, Health Canada was invited to
participate as a result of the WADI ALARAB anthrax incident.
While the issues covered at ECIMOC are not strictly security related,
security issues are discussed. Just
as important, the relationships maintained at the meetings are essential when
managing crises, since the ECIMOC participants are generally those who are
involved in the management of operations (as opposed to policy) within their
departments. It is through ECIMOC
that a link to IMSWG (strategic level) is hoped to be established.
10.
There have been several interdepartmental exercises since September 11,
2001, the most significant of which was held in May, 2002. This exercise, ATLANTIC GUARD was championed by the Nova
Scotia Federal Council Security Committee, sponsored by OCIPEP and hosted by
Land Force Atlantic Area (LFAA). ATLANTIC
GUARD challenged 13 federal and 3 provincial participating agencies with three
scenarios that presented security, health and environmental disaster situations.
The ATLANTIC GUARD Final Report, prepared by an independent assessor,
highlighted the requirement to regularly exercise interdepartmental cooperation
in order to standardize such things as telecommunications, public affairs and
command and control. An ATLANTIC
GUARD II is currently planned for 28-31 October, 2003.
11.
Other multi-agency exercises since ATLANTIC GUARD include:
a.
CCRA Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Table Top Exercise 24
September, 2002. This exercise was
one in a series of tabletop exercises held across the country by CCRA. The scenario presented was that of a “dirty bomb”
entering Halifax by container ship;
b.
Exercise ATLANTIC SPEAR 18-22 November, 2002.
Hosted by LFAA, the scenario was a short notice G8 meeting on Campobello
Island, NB. While primarily a LFAA
initiative to train its headquarters staff, there was participation from several
federal government departments such as DFAIT and Health Canada, and MARLANT
staff provided a maritime element;
c. Exercise ATLANTIC SHIELD 12 May, 2003. Hosted by the Halifax Port Authority, this exercise was designed to test the response to a bomb threat against a visiting cruise ship. The exercise served two purposes: one, it satisfied the Port Authority’s need to demonstrate a certain level of security to the cruise line industry in order to secure continuing visits to Halifax, and; two, it presented an opportunity to determine the level of response required from the Halifax Regional Municipality, the province and from federal departments.
Reactive
Relationships
12.
The best example of a reactive relationship within the Atlantic region is
that of the Threat Assessment Group (TAG).
The TAG is primarily an intelligence sharing group, and its members
belong to five principal departments: MARLANT,
RCMP (represented by “H” Division), Canada Customs and Revenue Agency,
Canadian Security and Intelligence Service and Citizenship and
Immigration Canada. While
information sharing among these agencies has been a common practice for several
years, an incident involving a suspect container passing through Halifax in the
fall 2002 pointed to a need to formalize the exchange of information and the TAG
was subsequently established. If one of the five principals obtains information it believes
the other members need to receive, that principal may call a meeting to discuss
the information and potential response requirements. The TAG is the genesis meeting of a coordinated
interdepartmental operational response to emergent issues that transcend the
mandate of any one department. The
TAG will also assist with the determination of a lead agency.
TAG members include both intelligence analysts and operators and the aim
of meetings is to ensure that a common understanding of a potential event is
reached and that each agency can then plan and coordinate its response.
Conclusion
13. Interdepartmental liaison is a routine but integral part of MARLANT operations. Occurring continuously at both the operational and tactical levels, it is largely proactive in nature through committees and exercises but becomes reactive when situations that require an operational response arise. Supporting the reactive and proactive relationships are the intelligence and operations links to national and international agencies.