Coast Guard union says crews in the dark about move to defence minister's control
OTTAWA — A union official who represents marine search and rescue crews said Monday the union was surprised and 'blindsided' by Ottawa's decision to move the Canadian Coast Guard from the control of the fisheries minister to the defence minister.
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Teresa Eschuk, Union of Canadian Transportation Employees national president, said the union is still in the dark about what the changes will mean, since no one from the federal cabinet has reached out to explain the plan and various senior officials have presented conflicting statements.
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The prime minister recently promised to expand the civilian maritime force's 'security mandate' — a promise that's still causing confusion within the Coast Guard a week after the announcement.
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Pelletier said in a recent meeting that the Coast Guard will be placed under the control of the minister of national defence — but will not be moving under the Department of National Defence.
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'Your guess is as good as mine,' Eschuk said when asked what that shift means.
'There's very little answers at this point because no one knows what's going on.'
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She suggested the full details may not be revealed until the fall budget.
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The Prime Minister's Office and Defence Minister David McGuinty's office did not reply to queries on Monday.
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Craig Macartney, spokesperson at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said in an email that the prime minister 'will soon initiate the process of moving the Canadian Coast Guard to the leadership of the minister of national defence' and that 'more details will be shared as the process moves forward.'
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'The change will permit the Canadian Coast Guard to better fulfil both its civilian and security responsibilities,' he said.
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McGuinty said on June 10 that the Coast Guard will be 'moving technically under the rubric of the Department of National Defence.'
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Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a week ago that the Coast Guard will be 'integrated' into Canada's NATO defence capabilities — comments made the same day he said Canada will meet its NATO commitment of spending 2 per cent of GDP on national defence this fiscal year.
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Canada has consistently failed to hit that mark and has come under heavy pressure from its closest allies to quickly ramp up defence spending. That pressure will only intensify next week when Carney attends the NATO summit in the Netherlands, where alliance partners are expected to discuss setting a new target of five per cent.
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Ottawa announced last week a $100 million budget boost for the Coast Guard. Senior bureaucrats said that will mean about 60 per cent of the department's $2.5 billion annual budget can be calculated toward the NATO target.
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