Lack of working Cyclones frustrates Canada's top sailor: 'The helicopter has been letting us down'
Article content
The fleet of 26 CH-148 helicopters was grounded for most of last month due to spare parts problems. And, as of Thursday, only three of the choppers were available to fly off the country's warships as the problems persist.
Article content
Article content
Article content
'Am I satisfied? No, not at all,' Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee said in Halifax on Thursday.
Naval officers often say maritime helicopters are the eyes and ears of a warship.
Article content
'This is why we're going all-in on drones right now,' Topshee said. 'The Royal Canadian Navy is working to get into contract for an uncrewed aerial vehicle that we can operate. It was meant to supplement the helicopter, but the reality is, if the helicopter can't be more reliable, then we are going to have to rely even more on other systems.'
Article content
As a stopgap, the navy is employing Hammerhead target drones — remote-control speedboats it normally uses to mimic small boat attacks — to launch sonobuoys ahead of a fleet so ships can detect submarines.
Article content
'One of the things a helicopter can do for us is it can drop sonobuoys to help detect submarines. Now we've got the ability to do that in other ways,' Topshee said.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Topshee — who was in Halifax to celebrate the start of Fleet Week, where the public can tour warships and meet the folks who crew them — doesn't want to rely on unmanned drones over helicopters.
Article content
'A helicopter is a far better platform,' he said. 'A helicopter can do everything. So, what we're going to need to do is take all of the things that we need a helicopter to be able to do and do them individually' in other ways.
Article content
To that end, the navy's experimenting with large drones that can transport equipment between ships, Topshee said. 'That's not a task that we need a well-armed (anti-submarine warfare) helicopter to do,' he said. 'If it can be done by a drone very simply without people involved in the process of actually flying it back and forth, that's ideal for us.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
24 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Quebec engineering body finds former SNC-Lavalin CEO guilty on multiple counts of misconduct
Former SNC-Lavalin Group chief executive Jacques Lamarre has been found guilty of seven of 14 allegations of misconduct made against him by Quebec's professional order for engineers. Last fall, the disciplinary council of L'Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec began several days of hearings to decide whether Mr. Lamarre infringed the organization's code of ethics and professional duties in the early 2000s when he was CEO of SNC-Lavalin, now known as AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. ATRL-T These hearings followed an investigation by the Ordre's Office of the Syndic, which then launched a formal complaint against the former engineering executive. AtkinsRéalis eyeing U.S. market for nuclear technology push The Syndic made 14 separate allegations against Mr. Lamarre as part of its disciplinary complaint, which are related to previous legal cases involving the company. The allegations link broadly to SNC-Lavalin's past business conduct as it sought contracts in Libya, as well as past political financing activities in Montreal. Among the findings of guilt, L'Ordre concluded that SNC-Lavalin under Mr. Lamarre's leadership directly or indirectly made payments amounting to about $2-million to the family of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, notably for expenses incurred by his son Saadi while he stayed in Canada. Mr. Lamarre was found not guilty on allegations that he sanctioned the purchase of a luxury yacht for Saadi. The former CEO last year denied the Syndic's allegations. Reached late Tuesday, he declined to comment on the final rulings. In early 2012, Swiss and Canadian police discovered questionable payments from SNC-Lavalin that ran through bank accounts in Switzerland and other countries. These payments were later found to be bribes to procure contracts for projects in Libya during Moammar Gadhafi's rule, as SNC-Lavalin sought a share of contracts offered by his government. In 2015, SNC-Lavalin and two affiliates were charged with fraud and violating Canada's Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act tied to its dealings in Libya. The company requested a settlement to the case, commonly known as a deferred prosecution agreement, but was denied. SNC-Lavalin solidified an agreement with prosecutors in 2019 for the company's construction division to plead guilty to a single charge of fraud while the corruption charge was dropped. The company agreed to pay a $280-million fine and received a three-year probation order. In 2016, the company acknowledged that it engaged in a scheme that involved SNC-Lavalin employees being encouraged to donate to federal political parties and then be reimbursed through fake personal-expense claims, bonuses or benefits. Canadian law states that businesses cannot make financial contributions to political parties irrespective of candidates. The company later entered into a compliance agreement with the Commissioner of Canada Elections. SNC-Lavalin also admitted that it used a similar strategy for donations to Quebec political parties. No penalties for Mr. Lamarre were announced by L'Ordre, though it said it will set a date for sanctions. He could be revoked of his status as a professional engineer, or face fines.
Globe and Mail
24 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
MEG Energy's hostile bidder says government support for rival offer would be unfair subsidy
The hostile bidder for MEG Energy Corp. MEG-T believes any rival offer that includes government support, such as loan guarantees, for Indigenous partners would amount to an unfair subsidy rarely seen in Canadian private-sector auctions. 'Any Indigenous purchase funded through a government backstop would be a direct subsidy to the private-sector partner,' Adam Waterous, executive chairman of Strathcona Resources Ltd. SCR-T, told The Globe and Mail in a statement Tuesday. He was responding to a Bloomberg News report that Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE-T is in talks with two Alberta First Nations to jointly launch an offer for MEG that could be backed by financial support from federal and provincial governments. MEG Energy could attract higher offers in wake of Strathcona's $5.9-billion bid, analysts say Opinion: China's 'big catcher's mitt' for Canadian oil helps MEG spurn Strathcona Mr. Waterous launched a hostile bid for MEG in May, but the oil sands producer rejected the overture and launched a strategic review to solicit any rival offers. On Tuesday, MEG's shares climbed 2 per cent after Bloomberg's report. The report, citing people familiar with the discussions, identified Chipewyan Prairie First Nation and Heart Lake First Nation as potential bidders alongside Cenovus. Prime Minister Mark Carney has put Indigenous participation among the list of criteria for 'nation-building' projects his government wants built to juice the Canadian economy amid the trade war with the United States. However, the government has not discussed this initiative in the context of an active corporate takeover campaign. As a rival bidder for MEG, Mr. Waterous has a natural opposition to government support for another bid that could lower the cost of financing the takeover. However, he is in a unique position because Strathcona is also MEG's second-largest shareholder with a 9.2-per-cent stake. If the rival bid topped Strathcona's own purchase price for MEG, Strathcona would benefit as a shareholder. But Mr. Waterous believes government support could set a dangerous new precedent. 'Canadian governments historically have not been in the business of using taxpayer money to provide multibillion-dollar subsidies to $45-billion-size enterprises on a one-off basis in the middle of a competitive process,' he said. (Cenovus alone has a $37-billion market value, and combining with MEG would boost that figure.) 'That behaviour might happen in Venezuela or Russia but historically has not happened in Canada,' he added. 'As a result, we would be highly surprised if there is any truth to this report. In our experience, when the government does provide financing to the private sector there is a robust, formal and open process to ensure taxpayers and other private market participants are treated fairly.' Officials with Cenovus, Chipewyan Prairie First Nation, Heart Lake First Nation and MEG Energy did not respond to requests for comment. Potentially complicating matters are board positions held by two directors with ties to Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corp., a provincial agency that provides financial guarantees for First Nations and Métis communities to participate in the natural-resources and other industrial sectors. AIOC chief executive officer Chana Martineau joined Cenovus's board of directors in May, while Gary Bosgoed, the agency's vice-chair, has been a director of MEG Energy since 2022. Officials with AIOC were not immediately available for comment. Strathcona announced its unsolicited cash-and-stock offer for MEG on May 15, saying the two oil sands-producing entities are highly complementary in geography, operations, reserve-life indexes and profit margins. MEG Energy's board has urged its investors to reject the offer, saying it undervalues the company. MEG's board has said its own search for strategic alternatives could yield a higher offer. Despite Mr. Waterous's opposition, there are recent examples of federal and provincial backstops used to help Indigenous groups finance acquisitions of major projects, and more are expected as companies seek expansions of key infrastructure. In May, Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance Limited Partnership, a consortium of 36 First Nations, secured a $400-million federal guarantee to finance its purchase of a minority interest in Enbridge Inc.'s ENB-T British Columbia natural-gas pipeline network. The guarantee was the first such deal under Ottawa's $10-billion program aimed at securing more Indigenous participation in major industrial projects. In recent months, Cenovus CEO Jon McKenzie has said he is focused on organic growth, and the company has gotten into trouble before over adding too much debt after promising investors it would fix its balance sheet. However, multiple reports have named Cenovus as a potential bidder for MEG. Despite the cost, Cenovus is the producer most capable of generating solid synergies in any takeover because its operations are near MEG's in the Christina Lake region.
National Post
31 minutes ago
- National Post
Canada's laws ‘outdated and inadequate' to fight cross-border crime, head of police chiefs group says
VICTORIA — The head of the Canada's police chiefs association says they are guided by 'outdated and inadequate' laws that were never designed to take on the current criminal landscape that no longer respects international borders. Article content Thomas Carrique, president of the Association of Chiefs of Police, said police would have been in a better place to 'disrupt' transnational crime, if the federal government had listened to his group in 2001, when it last proposed legislative changes. Article content 'Across Canada, police are confronting the domestic fallout of international disorder, but we are being asked to do so using tools, and authorities built for a different era, guided by outdated and inadequate legislation that was never designed to address today's criminal landscape,' he said on Tuesday. Article content Article content Carrique said 'geopolitical instability and social unrest' around the world are driving what he called 'a new wave of public safety threats' as Canadian police confront transnational organized crime, extremism, drug trafficking and exploitation through the internet. Article content 'Whether it's human smuggling as well as illicit exportation and importation of drugs, precursors, and firearms, organized crime groups are taking advantage of systematic blind spots, outdated statues, and digital platforms to victimize Canadians,' he said. Article content While geopolitics and social unrest might be beyond the control of Canadians and their government, their level of preparation and response is not, he said. Article content Article content The current Strong Borders Act legislation proposed by the federal governments gives police many — but not all necessary _ tools to confront globalized crime, he said. Article content Article content The government said the bill would help authorities combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of fentanyl, crack down on money laundering and bolster police response to criminal networks. Article content He said the federal government's legislation aligns closely with several resolutions the group has passed during the conference this week. Article content Carrique said there are a 'number of loopholes' that must be closed to reflect the realities of 21st century crime, such as the inability of police to get a search warrant for any Canada Post package under 500 grams. Article content 'So, a judge cannot even issue a search warrant for a package of that size that may contain enough fentanyl to kill a number of people.'
