SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Navy and Coast Guard Day on the Hill

Honourable senators, I rise a second time on a more joyous moment.

Today, I rise to mark Navy and Coast Guard Appreciation Day on the Hill. In doing so, I want to acknowledge and honour the valuable role that both the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard play in Canada’s history, defence, security, sovereignty and our future prosperity.

Canada is a maritime country, though it can be hard to see sometimes. All but two provinces and all three territories have direct access to tidal water. Canada’s motto, “From Sea to Sea,” references this, but if you ask me, it should be updated to “From Sea to Sea to Sea to Lake.” I think this would better reflect Canada’s immense sovereignty over the Arctic, the East Coast, the West Coast and, of course, our Great Lakes.

History teaches us that the railways helped build Canada, and that is partly true. However, I would also contend that the oceans, lakes, rivers and canals helped build Canada. Not only is Canada a maritime country; it is also a trading one. Approximately 20% of Canada’s international trade goes by sea.

In an ever-contested security environment, it’s the sailors of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Coast Guard who work tirelessly to ensure that the sea lanes are open, secure and safe. Whether that be the HMCS Moncton and HMCS Edmonton working with the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One in the Baltic Sea or the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Judy LaMarsh ensuring that the St. Lawrence Seaway remains open and safe to navigation, the Royal Canadian Navy and Coast Guard operate as a team with a common purpose, and that is to keep Canada safe and open in the maritime domain.

As good mariners, both the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard are not just aware of the here and now; they are also keeping an eye on the horizon. Both are in the process of major recapitalization projects. The Royal Canadian Navy is looking towards a future fleet of new destroyers, supply ships and submarines and exploring the possibility of new corvettes and training vessels.

The Coast Guard is getting ready to accept two new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels, like the six already in service with the RCN, as well as two new heavy icebreakers. The keels have been laid down in Canadian shipyards.

But hulls in the water are only part of the equation. Every person who crews those ships is a Canadian. They are our family and our friends. Those who choose to serve deserve to know that we as parliamentarians support them and stand not just behind them but with them.

This is why days like today are important. Navy and Coast Guard Day on the Hill is a chance for both the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard to tell their stories to parliamentarians directly, to explain what they do and why their work is so important to Canada’s defence, security, economic prosperity and sovereignty.

In closing, as the daughter of an RCN submariner and a Royal Navy nurse, permit me to quote Tennyson:

Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea . . . .

Thank you.