July 24, 2015
Montreal, Quebec – The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGA), with its Search and Rescue partners, will conduct maritime emergency exercises on Great Slave Lake and on the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories July 25 and 26 2015. These exercises are being conducted as part of regular ongoing training between the CCGA, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), the Department of National Defence (DND), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA).
These exercises strengthen community relations and increase awareness about our SAR resources and expertise. The exercises are designed to test shared responses to distress incidents and ensure that search and rescue teams and agencies are as prepared as possible to work together when responding to and rescuing people on the water.
Where / when:
- On Saturday July 25th maritime search and rescue volunteers and professionals will be testing their skills on Great Slave Lake, NT between Yellowknife and Hay River. Saturday’s exercise will begin in the Devils Channel area and proceed to the southwest portion of Great Slave Lake.
- On Sunday July 26th the exercises will continue on the Mackenzie Delta NT, north of Inuvik to the Beaufort Sea.
- The public should not be alarmed to see SAR assets or activity in these areas.
“The purpose of these exercises is to test the capabilities of Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary units in the challenging environment of northern Canada, and their ability to work with other agencies when tasked on a multi-jurisdictional maritime emergency,” said Peter Garapick, Superintendent of the CCG’s Search and Rescue program in Central and Arctic Region. “From the east coast of Baffin Island to the Beaufort Sea, our volunteer arm, the CCGA, has nine active units. Given the distances involved, having seven of those nine units involved this weekend is unprecedented,” added Garapick.
For more information about the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, Central and Arctic Region, please visit http://ccga-ca.com/
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Rachelle Smith
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Central and Arctic Region
(204) 983-4197
Rachelle.Smith@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
MA-CA-15-04
