| By :
Molly Wider
A recent cutback has seen Canada's Navy make a tough choice to leave several of its vessels at the Halifax and Esquimalt docks. It has been decided that three ships will remain on each coast with the remaining six of the 55-foot vessels being sent to long-term storage. Built in the mid-1990s, the Kingston-class ships were designed to detect mines that could block or interfere with Canadian ports. They are only lightly armed but can be converted to carry a platoon of soldiers or a small underwater robot. A shortage of both sailors and money is forcing Canada's navy to cut half of its fleet of 12 vessels used to patrol the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The navy says the move is necessary to continue the primary mission of defending Canada. The move was made as the navy admits it does not have enough resources to operate them all. Denise LaViolette, a spokeswoman for the navy wrote "Upon close examination of resources and priorities, this was deemed necessary to safeguard and optimize our operational capability, both now and in the future." Although the navy has not disclosed the amount of money it would need to keep the whole fleet active or how much it will save by reducing the fleet by six of its current twelve vessels, it has been noted by navy officials that the Canadian government is providing "stable and predictable" funding as the navy continues to refit its submarines and modernize its frigates. However, Nova Scotia's Premier, Darrell Dexter, says that although he is briefed regularly by DND officials, he was not given any warning about the cuts from Ottawa, even though he is the minister responsible for Canada's military relations but would have been pleased to have assisted Canada's National Defence Minister, Peter MacKay, in making a case to keep the fleet intact. Nova Scotia's Premier was noted as saying "Minister MacKay would have my full support in making the case to the cabinet and the prime minister on the importance of naval operations not just to this province, but to this country and that anything that would lead to the paring down of operations would be of concern to us." This decision will have a large impact on the economics of both Victoria and Halifax ports as well as the ability to patrol Canada's coasts. Government cutbacks have affected many of the country's staples, including worker's benefits and insurance plans.
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