National President Teresa Eschuk represented UCTE members at the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence last Thursday. The committee is currently studying how the CCG Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) will be integrated into the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
In this context, the Committee invited Eschuk to appear on behalf of our over 3500 Canadian Coast Guard members.
She made it clear that UCTE does not oppose moving responsibility for the CCG to National Defence, but also took the opportunity to make the committee aware of several critical points:
- Recruitment and retention is a longstanding issue. Funding allocated to the Coast Guard must reach the staff and equipment of the CCG to help alleviate this issue with good pay and up-to-date equipment.
- Four of seven Marine Security Operations Centres have been closed in recent years. Eschuk urged the committee to consider re-opening all of these centres to increase the capability of the CCG to respond to a threat and to share intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information.
- The CCG must remain a civilian force, not a military force.
- There are still Phoenix pay issues among CCG members. The integration of CCG into the Ministry of Defence must not create new issues with the transfer to MOD’s payroll system.
- We called for renewed investment in lighthouses, which are important heritage sites and need adequate funding and attention.
Committee members had some questions for Teresa, including on consultation. She made it clear to the committee that the Government did not consult prior to the announcement of the transfer of responsibility, and that we expect full prior consultation as the planning and integration process continues.
