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Canada's Coastlines:

The Longest Under-Defended Borders in the World

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APPENDIX III

Maritime Surveillance Activities of Provincial Airlines Limited

This appendix considers aerial maritime surveillance that has been contracted out.

Background

The Airborne Maritime Surveillance Division of Provincial Airlines Limited (PAL) commenced operations for the offshore oil exploration industry in the early 1980s. Its relationship with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) began in 1986 as a trial program for alternate service delivery for maritime surveillance.  

PAL entered into the first of its three five-year contracts with DFO in 1989. It was the first private company contracted to carry out maritime surveillance. PAL received this task because the former service provider, the Department of National Defence (DND), had decided that its CP-121 Tracker coastal patrol aircraft would be retired in 1990. This forced DFO to turn to industry for its marine surveillance requirements. The current contract with PAL expires in October 2004, but funding for the DFO program was increased in December 2001 and will be sustained at the new level until at least 2010.  

 

Contracts 

As with all government contracts, Public Works and Government Services Canada is the Contract Authority. However, PAL is under contract to DFO, meaning that DFO has direct control over the services it provides and the data it collects. PAL flights are considered (by DFO) to be not PAL patrols but DFO patrols.  

The arrangement entered into in 1989 was modified after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States (US). The federal government provided funding for a National Marine Security Initiative in its December 2001 budget, enabling DFO to “increase the scope and frequency of its surveillance flights over critical approaches to North America. This will enhance Canada’s capacity to identify and address potential marine threats.” About $ 60 million in spending was committed over five years to increase maritime intelligence gathering and to protect Canadian ports and other critical infrastructure.[1]  

This allowed DFO to increase its utilization of PAL aircraft and intensify its data collection on non-fishing boats like bulk carriers, freighters, and container and cruise ships. When the contract was retendered in January 2003, the new funding package was extended to 2010. Transport Canada explained on 22 January that DFO will be “expand[ing] its air surveillance program. Augmenting the existing air program is an efficient and cost-effective way for Canada to obtain intelligence on marine vessel activities… This will mean more air patrols on both coasts inside and outside Canada’s 200-mile limit. It will also mean that patrols can be conducted at an enhanced level to gather information for security purposes, in addition to increased fisheries enforcement and pollution detection.”[2]  

 

Aircraft 

PAL utilizes three fully equipped King Air 200 aircraft. About 6, 000 hours is flown on the three aircraft each year. They are available to DFO around-the-clock.  

Each of the aircraft possesses radar, forward-looking infrared, data management, night vision, and satellite communication capabilities. Two of the PAL aircraft are capable of flying for 6.5 hours, while one has longer-range fuel tanks and can fly missions of about 7.5 hours. The aircraft will be equipped with Automated Identification System (AIS) receivers in 2003.  

 

The Missions – General

PAL does not see the military as a competitor. Rather, PAL provides a service – domestic maritime law enforcement – that enables the navy to concentrate its scarce assets on other tasks. While PAL cannot conduct interceptions / arrests, the DFO personnel who are always on board can do so. No one on a PAL aircraft is armed.  

DFO regularly schedules PAL flights. The aircraft are usually focussed on fisheries and conservation missions, but at the same time their physical ‘presence’ in remote areas has a deterrent effect because ship captains know that Canadian authorities are looking for them and are aware of them. The flights also detect and identify marine targets of interest. On 19 July 1999, for example, a routine DFO patrol from Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Comox in Vancouver detected the first Chinese immigrant-smuggling ship off the British Columbia coast.  

 

The Missions – Where, What Information, and for Whom 

DFO patrols are conducted using PAL aircraft along the Atlantic and Pacific coastline.  The aircraft are based on the east coast, but one operates from CFB Comox on the east coast from June to September.  

According to Ken Penny, a Senior Program Officer within DFO’s Enforcement Branch, the Atlantic patrols are conducted in the south from the Canada / US border to the lower one third of the Labrador coast in the north. Occasionally, patrols are flown from the north to the Davis Strait area. Seaward within this area, patrols are flown to and in some cases beyond Canada’s 200 mile extended economic zone. A major objective is to monitor foreign fishing activity on the Nose and Tail of the Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap. On the Pacific side, patrols are conducted between the Canada / US borders in the north and south.  Generally speaking, patrols in the west are not conducted seaward for more than 50 to 60 nautical miles.[3] 

For the most part, ship identification information (names and numbers) and their position, heading, and activities are recorded. Digital pictures are often taken. Information is also routinely gathered on iceberg and marine mammal locations, ice and environmental conditions, and pollution events.  

This is primarily intended to meet DFO’s requirement for fisheries enforcement, but DND is a significant user of the information. Special efforts have been made to pass the data to the Canadian Forces intelligence systems on both coasts in real-time so that the military can develop a clear picture of the activity on the marine approaches to Canada. The Canadian Forces Maritime Operational Information and Surveillance Centres in CFB Halifax and Comox receive the information by satellite from the PAL Surveillance Information Centre. DND requirements have been incorporated into the patrol schedules. PAL data is also provided to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and the Atmospheric Environment Service on an as-needed basis (which is not often).  

 

The Missions – Limitations

During the development of the National Marine Security Initiative, DFO proposed three options for marine security improvement. However, the funding was sufficient only for enhancing DFO’s existing program structure. While added security benefits have and are being provided, this has resulted in part-time coverage of the west coast, and inadequate coverage of the northern areas of the east coast.

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APPENDIX IV

The Registration and Licensing of Vessels in Canada 

This appendix discusses the registration and licensing of vessels in Canada.[4]

 

Registration  

This practice falls under the Canada Shipping Act (CSA). The 1987 version of this Act was revised and updated in 2001. The new Act received Royal Assent in November 2001 but had not come into force as of 2 July 2003 because Transport Canada is making the required regulations.[5]   

Under the Canada Shipping Act, any commercial or pleasure vessel of 15 gross tons (which roughly equates to a 12 meter ship) or more must register with Transport Canada. Generally, the vessel owner must be Canadian. The ‘15 tones’ figure is an arbitrary number that is in acceptance in the industry, and is considered to be a fair division between those vessels that have to be registered and those that have to be licensed.  

CSA, 2001 will require commercial vessels smaller than 15 gross tons to register with Transport Canada. Currently, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) licenses these vessels on behalf of Transport Canada.  

Registration is different from licensing because it provides legal title, and it affords vessels with a unique name and number. Vessels equal to or less than 15 tons can be registered to obtain these benefits, but this is not mandatory.  

Registered vessels receive a Certificate of Registry that must be renewed periodically. This Certificate must be on board the vessel at all times.

 

Licensing  

A Small Vessel License from CCRA is required for most non-registered vessels that are principally maintained or operated in Canada. Licenses are required for:  

·        commercial vessels that do not exceed 15 gross tons (as mentioned, this is being changed); and  

·        pleasure crafts that do not exceed 15 gross tons and are equipped with a 7.5 kW motor or more than one motor, the combined power of which is 7.5 kW or more.  

This requirement includes personal watercraft. Vessels with less powerful motors may also be licensed.  

Registration or a license is not required for vessels registered in another country, amphibious vehicles for which a provincial automobile license is required, Canadian Forces ships, and lifeboats.  

The process for the registration and licensing of vessels is the same across Canada.

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APPENDIX V

Federal Statutes Relating to Ports 

This appendix lists the federal statutes that relate to ports. According to the Consolidated Statutes and Regulations of Canada, updated to 31 December 2002, there are 51 relevant statutes:  

1.          Canada Marine Act

2.          Canada Shipping Act

3.          Quebec Harbor, Port Warden Act

4.          Maintenance of Ports Operations Act, 1986

5.          West Coast Ports Operations Act, 1994

6.          West Coast Ports Operations Act, 1995

7.          Marine Liability Act

8.          Canada Shipping Act, 2001

9.          Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act

10.     Canada Transportation Act

11.     Privacy Act

12.     Harbour Commissions Act

13.     Access to Information Act

14.     Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act

15.     Marine Insurance Act

16.     Health of Animals Act

17.     Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

18.     Firearms Act

19.     Geneva Conventions Act

20.     Criminal Code

21.     British Columbia Grain Handling Operations Act

22.     Canada National Parks Act

23.     Coasting Trade Act

24.     Plant Protection Act

25.     Prince Rupert Grain Handling Operations Act

26.     Public Sector Compensation Act

27.     Navigable Waters Protection Act

28.     Quarantine Act

29.     Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park Act

30.     Western Grain Transition Payments Act

31.     Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999

32.     Energy Administration Act

33.     Excise Act

34.     Foreign Missions and International Organizations Act

35.     Canada Labour Code

36.     Pension Act

37.     Pilotage Act

38.     Public Service Superannuation Act

39.     Blue Water Bridge Authority Act

40.     Fishing and Recreational Harbours Act

41.     National Defence Act

42.     Trade-marks Act

43.     Coastal Fisheries Protection Act

44.     Merchant Seamen Compensation Act

45.     Canada Post Corporation Act

46.     Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Implementation Act [Not in force]

47.     Export and Import Permits Act

48.     Income Tax Act

49.     James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Claims Settlement Act

50.     Shipping Conferences Exemption Act, 1987

51.     Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act

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APPENDIX VI

The Top 10 Canadian Ports By Tonnage Handled 

This appendix lists Canada’s top 10 ports, raked according to tonnage handled in 2002.  

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