Canada's navy cuts coast patrol fleet in half

[daleo]

A shortage of money and sailors is forcing Canada's navy to mothball half of its fleet of 12 vessels used to patrol the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

In a statement to CBC News, the navy says it made the tough choice to leave several of the 55-metre vessels at dock in Halifax and Esquimalt, B.C., and strip them of their crews because it doesn't have the resources to operate them all.

The navy says the move is necessary to continue the primary mission of defending Canada.

"Upon close examination of resources and priorities, this was deemed necessary to safeguard and optimize our operational capability, both now and in the future," wrote Denise LaViolette, a navy spokeswoman.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/05/13/ns-navy-coastal-ships.html#ixzz0nq731Zol
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Harper would have criticized the Liberals for this, when they were in power, ruthlessly.

[CHIMO]

1. Canada's navy cuts coast patrol fleet in half

Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter said he did not get any warning from Ottawa about the cuts — even though as the minister responsible for military relations, he is regularly briefed by Defence Department officials.

Dexter said he would have gladly helped Defence Minister Peter MacKay make the case for keeping the fleet intact.

Government budget figures published by the department show that spending this year has actually gone down. Last year, Canada's Maritime Forces were allocated $2.1 billion; this year this was down to $1.97 billion, with a further reduction planned for the following year.

http://www.cbc.ca/mobile/text/story_news-canada.html?/ept/html/story/2010/05/13/ns-navy-coastal-ships.html
Last Updated: Thursday, May 13, 2010 | 7:17 PM ET

[tuvor]

2. "Harper would have criticized the Liberals for this..."

They still are, saying basically "yeah, well, you did it, too, but worse, so nyeah."