DRAFT 1:
Privatizing Search and Rescue
Jackie MacDiarmid
POLI 463
Prof. Michael Byers
November 20, 2014
Introduction
Canada currently faces a growing number of challenges with regards to the Search and Rescue (SAR). Quite apart from having to monitor the second largest country in the world with extremely variable weather conditions, challenging topography and rugged coastline, SAR is suffering from lack of political attention. The last overhaul of Canadian SAR was over 60 years ago, and since then it has been beleaguered by a lack of direction from political leaders, aging equipment and delayed procurement processes to replace these resources.[1]
This is especially troubling as the demands on SAR will only continue to grow. The number of “Weekend Warriors” seeking adventure in Canada’s vast wilderness has grown dramatically over the last few decades, putting additional strain on SAR services. Even more alarming is that as Canada’s Arctic undergoes a period of immense transition, more and more people are seeking to explore this formerly difficult to access frontier. During the summer season, the Arctic now plays host to 30 private yachts, as well as over 100 other vessels engaged in destination sailing. The Government of Canada has encouraged Arctic tourism both domestically and internationally, despite the fact that in the event of a crisis, SAR assistance would not be hours, but days away. The description of Arctic SAR seems woefully inadequate even when based on the explanation given by the Department of National Defence’s website, which states the following: “The CCG [Canadian Coast Guard] is capable of providing SAR services to the Arctic on a seasonal basis through the deployment of icebreakers and some science vessels.”[2]
It is not just tourists and adventure seekers who may require the assistance of SAR services. As the Northwest Passage becomes a more viable shipping route, the Arctic is bound to see more commercial traffic as well. Offshore drilling is already an established practice off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, and many speculate that the future of the Artic may play host to resource extraction activities as well.[3] Considering the increased demand for these services will only grow stronger, it is highly problematic that SAR is already being stretched to breaking point.
Structure of Canadian SAR
Canada’s SAR is maintained by a variety of actors. The main distinction is that Aeronautical and Maritime SAR is the primary concern of the Canadian Forces. They may also be called in to assist with Ground SAR, medical evacuations and humanitarian incidents if they are requested to do so by provincial/territorial or municipal authorities.Ground SAR, on the other hand, falls under the jurisdiction of the Provinces/Territories.
While so far these jurisdictions may seem cut and dried, they are anything but, as a wide number of different actors are involved with SAR.[4] It is managed by a patchwork of different entities, and is handled differently across the country. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have primary authority over SAR in all Canadian provinces except for Ontario, Quebec, and certain parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, who have established their own police forces to deal with Ground SAR. Ontario is the only province to have a specific police task force dedicated to SAR.
Various volunteer associations make huge contributions to SAR across the country, and are instrumental in carrying out a great number of SAR operations. National Parks have yet a different SAR mandate, and the services and resources are fundedby revenue generated from the parks.[5]Furthermore, Marine services are also covered by the Canadian Coast Guard, which unlike the Armed Forced who fall under the Department of National Defence, answer to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Civilian services are mentioned only in the context of the volunteer associations, who have varying degrees of resources, staff and equipment.
[Research in Progress: I have so far only been able to find mention of “private” SAR service and equipment with regards to provincial /volunteer groups manuals mentioning civilian aircrafts and training services. I have found no mention of specific companies/services.]
As is evident by way of the description of Canadian SAR, the system in is many ways inconsistent and has been operating on an ad hoc basis for the past 60 years. In the next section, the main challenges currently facing SAR will be outlined.
Primary Challenges Facing SAR
One of the biggest holes in the current SAR status quo is the fact that Canada still has no overarching policy or strategy for SAR in order to coordinate the efforts of the various actors and jurisdictions involved in SAR and allow them to streamline the decision making process. This gap was highlighted the 2013 report from the Auditor General’s Office (AGO) on Canadian SAR, which stated that the need for a national policy framework on SAR was identified in 1976 by the federal government. Though a demand for this policy framework has been restated several times over the past 4 decades, no action has yet been taken on this front.[6]
The AGO report explains why the lack of such a framework is problematic: Without it, the entities involved in SAR have referred to the National SAR Manual, which includes an outline of techniques, practices and terminology, but lacks fundamental elements of policy principles, common priorities, service requirements, and standards.[7] As a result, instead of setting standards based on analysis and established requirements, agencies instead conduct affairs based on the existing resources which are available to them. Seeing as equipment and staffing are enormous challenges for the Armed Forces and the Coast Guard, it is a reasonable worry to think that the resulting quality of service will be jeopardized.
Secondly, the issue of aging SAR equipment is striking. Both Fixed Wing and Rotary Wing SAR equipment are falling into disrepair. Canada currently uses Buffalo and Hercules fixed wing aircraft for search and rescue. The Buffalo aircraft were purchased in 1967 and need rigorous maintenance to keep them in the air due to their age. Hercules Aircrafts are also reaching the end of the line, the Canadian fleet having logged more hours than any other Hercules aircrafts in the service around the world.[8]
The Fixed Wing SAR (FWSAR) procurement process first began in 2002. While the initial goal was to have operational equipment by 2007, this deadline has been pushed back an entire decade to 2017.[9] The procurement has been characterized by mismanagement on the part of the federal government: Harper cancelled the procurement project office in 2006 when he took office. In 2007, the Department of National Defense announced the launch of a new procurement for FWSAR, but it was rejected two years later by Industry Canada after claims that the specifications for the aircraft has been altered to favour Alemenia over other competitors. This was confirmed by an inquiry into the matter made by the National Research Council at the request of the Federal Government. As a result, in 2011 the procurement was started again from scratch, and Public Works Canada was handed responsibility for the file. As of 2014, the RFP has still not been released for Industries to begin making bids for the procurement.
Canada’s SAR helicopters are also reaching the end of the line. Currently in use are the Cormorant and Griffin models. While the Air Force insisted that the minimum number of Cormorants that could be obtained while still providing optimal safety for Canadians was 16, however they are now down to 14 due to losses during training exercises. This has resulted in the much smaller and less capable Griffin models being transferred over to the Trenton base. This occurred in 2009, and the government assured the public that the transition would be temporary. However the situation continues to this day, and critics point out that should an incident occur with many people involved, the Griffins would be inadequate to rescue those in distress.[10]
While more progress has been made with helicopter procurement when compared with FWSAR, there have still been a host of issues to contend with. Most pressingly, the Cormorants are no closer to being replaced. The contract to replace light helicopters which provide secondary SAR assistance has gone forward, and another for mid-sized helicopters, similar to the Griffin model, is also going forward. Both have been sole sourced to Bell Helicopters, as they were the only company to bid on either contract. The procurement for the light helicopters was controversial as other companies which were in the race pulled out at the last minute and accused the government of rigging the specifications to favour Bell. No other companies put forward a bid on the mid-sized helicopters, and this August that contract was also awarded to Bell Helicopter.[11]
As a result of the challenges which Canadian SAR is facing, in recent years the conversation has turned to considering “Alternative Service Delivery” or in other words, the privatization of all or some elements of SAR. It is to this debate which we will now turn.
Privatization of SAR: The Debate
Governments across the world have been looking to the privatization of SAR services. The trend has been identified as a global shift as a result of economics.[12] In the advent of belt-tightening measures on for national budgets, many defence ministries have felt the pinch and been forced to downsize. Some, including the UK, Australia, Spain and Sweden have chosen to slough off SAR partially or entirely onto civilian contractors despite broad public opinion that it should be left in the public sphere. [13]
The mere suggestion of privatizingSAR in Canada has been met with great controversy. In the summer of 2011, a statement was issued from the Government of Canada to aeronautic industry officials in advance of an industry consultation day to the effect that the government was considering alternative delivery service.[14] The announcement received substantial media coverage, with Newfoundland officials in particular expressing deep concerns over this proposed course of action.[15] The Newfoundland NDP were quick to publicise their disapproval of the proposed course of action, and expressed the view that SAR is an inherently public service. Provincial party leader Lorraine Michael urged then Premier Cathy Dunderdale to stand steadfastly against any move to towards privatization: ““I would be concerned about any search and rescue service being handed over to a private company to operate for a profit,” said Michael. “These services should remain public services operated in the interest of safety of Canadians first and foremost.”
Industry officials were purportedly sceptical that the Air Force would be in support of such a move however, as SAR and rescue is a high profile operation for the RCAF. It was assumed that for this reason they would be loath to cede any control over it.[16] Indeed, in September of 2012, the Government of Canada confirmed that it would not be considering privatization of SAR.[17][Waiting for a response from Pugliese to quote missing article here].
Others are of the opinion that many in the Air Force would not at all be opposed diminishing their role in SAR however. Defense Affairs reporter Murray Brewster commented that many in the Air Force feel that SAR is viewed as one of the least appealing and flashy aspects of the force. Not only this, but that it is actually a drain on resources for an organisation which is already strained to the limit.[18]
The announcement by the government and the media coverage that followed were an important piece in a conversation an ongoing conversation regardingpotential privatization for Canadian SAR. A 2009 editorial by Diane DeMille, editor of the Canadian American Strategic Review, criticized the way that SAR is currently handled in Canada and put forward privatisation as an attractive alternative. “The challenges of monitoring the West Coast are very different from those on the East Coast. This means trying to coordinate a common fleet of military aircraft to perform a wide range of aerial search-and-rescue tasks which are decidedlynon-military in nature,” writes DeMille.[19]
With this, DeMille outlined both her view that regional, civilian contractors would be better equipped to deal with the specialised nature of SAR in particular regions of Canada and that SAR falls outside the mandate of the military. These points touch on several fundamental concepts which arise when examining the privatization of SAR: The practical implications of quality and cost of “calving off Search-and-Rescue”,[20] and the more philosophical question of whether or not there is something inherently public about the SAR service, and whether or not the government should take responsibility for providing this service to Canadians. If these operations are indeed deemed to be inherently non-military in nature as DeMille believes, an examination of what the mandate of the Canadian Forces is or should be would also serve our purpose in order to better evaluate who should take responsibility for SAR.
Another article from the Canadian American Strategic Review stretches this dialogue even further, staunchly supporting a bid for the privatization of SAR. This post, published in 2011, is entitled “A Modest Proposal,” and points out that other aspects of military function are now being provided by civilians, such as pilot and crew training. Furthermore, the post identifies what they call an “international trend” towards privatization of SAR, citing Australia as an example of a country which has done this successfully. Australia has introduced a blended system, where RAAF still assist with SAR and the equipment is publicly owned, but the primary duties are carried out by private contractors. The proposal ends with the assertion that SAR is fundamentally a civilian responsibility, and as such it should be handed to a civilian agency and that contracted pilots bear the brunt of the work. [21]
The quality and cost of the service provided are two primary considerations when looking into the merits of the privatization of SAR. DeMille puts forward the opinion that since different regions of Canada have such different needs with regards to SAR, she argues that it only makes sense to contract it out to private companies who are more able to specialize than the Canadian Forces.
Civilian operators could perform the tasks more effectively and efficiently than the current standards.[22]The National Research Council have also explored this issue. In their 2010 report on the FWSAR procurement, they suggest that Alternative Service Delivery might lead to lower costs for the Federal Government.[23][24]
Given that Canada is still lacking a comprehensive strategy on SAR[25], the challenges of effectively incorporating private companies into the fray of what is already an immensely complex series of operations would be great indeed. The provinces have been hesitant to introduce alternative delivery service into Ground SAR (for which they are responsible) because of the complications which would arise.
Alberta’s code of conduct for SAR it is made clear that using privately contracted air support for a rescue mission is something of a worst case scenario. “There's a huge liability in using private aircraft for a search, only those either operated by a Government agency or under the umbrella of one such CASARA and Commercial operators should be used as these aircrews must meet standards for training and competencies. The aircraft are also maintained to a better standard generally.” says the manual. It goes on to outline that the best bet for air support comes from the RCMP or from the Air Force, which in Alberta’s case would have to come all the way from Trenton, Ontario. BC also stresses that its Ground SAR missions are completed “solely by volunteers”. [Again, ongoing research with regards to individual provinces as indicated above.]
To further illustrate the debate surrounding the privatization of SAR, we will now turn to how other countries have dealt with this issue.
Case Study: Privatization of Search and Rescue Services in the United Kingdom
[Integrated answers to questions asked in the course blog comments coming]
This case study had the aim of providing an example of a country which is currently moving towards full privatization of their Search and Rescue (SAR) services. The United Kingdom is in the middle of such a shift, and by providing context for this decision and providing details with regards to the institutions involved, the procurement process and the criticisms levelled against this course of action, I hope to be able to provide some basis for comparison to the Canadian context. The UK has been chosen not only because it is pioneering the way towards fully privatised SAR services, but also because similar to Canada, they are faced with the issue of aging equipment, protracted procurement processes and concerns over the range and ability of SAR in the country. In order to provide sufficient context for a comparison with Canada, this case study will examine the circumstances that led the government to its decision to privatize SAR, the procurement process and the concerns which critics have voiced throughout the affair.