St. John’s, NL – Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Keith Ashfield and Minister Peter Penashue, Regional Minister for Newfoundland and Labrador today welcomed the crews of the Canadian Coast Guard Ships Louis S. St-Laurent and Terry Fox to their homeport of St. John’s after summer missions in the Arctic. These are two of Canada's largest and heaviest ice-breakers and are based out of St. John's.
During the Arctic summer, Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers provide assistance to commercial shipping, support the advancement of science in the north and carry out search and rescue missions.
“Both the CCGS Terry Fox and CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent have a proud history of service to Canadians and we are pleased to welcome them back from their Northern missions to be tasked for their winter jobs on Canada’s East Coast,” said Minister Ashfield. "Our government has made unprecedented commitments to renewing the Coast Guard fleet and, when Arctic heroes like these vessels are ready for retirement, we will be ready to replace them with state-of-the-art, Canadian made ships."
“The Terry Fox and the Louis S. St-Laurent serve an important role in Canada's North and, since they were moved here in 2007, make up a significant part of the Canadian Coast Guard’s presence in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Minister Penashue. “With investments from our government, the ships and their crew continue to provide exemplary services to Newfoundland and Labrador and, indeed, all Canadians.”
The Terry Fox made waterways around Iqaluit safer, including the recovery of large mooring buoys that were hazards to mariners. Terry Fox crews also supplied the communities of Eureka and Kugaaruk in Nunavut, and deployed underwater cables for Defence Research and Development Canada.
This past summer three Arctic missions were conducted from the decks of the Louis S. St-Laurent, including an expedition through the Northwest Passage to study the diversity of Canada’s three oceans and a study of water circulation through the Beaufort Gyre, the largest freshwater storage reservoir in the Arctic. This was the fourth and final year of joint Canada – US extended continental shelf surveys. The Louis and the United States Coast Guard Cutter Healy collected scientific data needed by both countries to define the outer limits of their respective continental shelves in the Arctic Ocean. As part of the continental shelf survey, an autonomous underwater vehicle was deployed from the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent and collected 100km of multibeam sonar high resolution imagery of the seafloor. This is believed to be the longest deployment of an AUV from a ship in the Arctic Ocean.
Since 2006, the Government of Canada has committed to renewing the Canadian Coast Guard fleet and has invested over $1.4 billion to this purpose. This includes the procurement of some small vessels and small craft, repairs and Vessel Life Extensions as part of the Economic Action Plan, and construction of nine Hero Class Patrol Vessels, three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels, one Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel, one Air Cushioned Vehicle and a new Polar Icebreaker - CCGS John G. Diefenbaker.
The Polar Icebreaker and the Offshore Science vessels will be constructed as part of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, led by Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Information about the CCG ships, icebreaking, the Canadian Coast Guard Arctic missions and Canada’s Northern Strategy is available online: and http://www.northernstrategy.gc.ca/.
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For more information:
Barbara Mottram
Press Secretary
Minister Keith Ashfield
(613) 992-3474
Sam Whiffen
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans
Newfoundland and Labrador Region
(709) 772-7631
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