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Just read this one...
http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20070213%2fauditor_general_070213&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True
Auditor General Sheila Fraser keelhauled the Canadian Coast Guard in her latest report, saying it is burdened with aging ships and rife with incompetence.
CTV.ca News Staff
Auditor General Sheila Fraser discusses her report at a news conference in Ottawa, Feb. 13, 2007. (CP / Tom Hanson)
Monitoring Canada's fish stocks are a key responsibility, yet constant breakdowns have kept boats tied to wharfs.
As a result, scientific missions have been cancelled, leading to inaccurate information about fish flowing to government.
"The information is at best dated and may not be as accurate as it should be," Fraser told reporters Tuesday in Ottawa.
"Our Coast Guard has not been able to do any of the surveys on the fish stocks since 2001," Robert Fife, CTV's Ottawa bureau chief, told Newsnet. "So we have been making valuations on fish stock without any proper analysis because the fish stock surveys have not been carried out."
Last year, the entire spring survey of the Newfoundland region was cancelled because two vessels were out of service. However, Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn announced a limited fishery in one area.
Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer told reporters: "As long as the Coast Guard stays within the clutches of Fisheries and Oceans, it will go the way of the codfish."
Fraser said that the Coast Guard has demonstrated a history "of failing to complete corrective action on issues raised in our reports and the reports of parliamentary committees."
This is costing Canadians, she said.
For example, a lack of national repair standards and procedures means millions have been wasted on unnecessary repair jobs -- and in some cases, incompetent ones -- on the aging fleet, she found.
Some examples:
An engine caught fire after the crew aboard a research vessel fixed an engine without the manual, costing $1.3 million in damage.
The repair of two potable water tanks that was supposed to cost $53,000 ended up costing $1.6 million in extra fix-it work.
Rebuilding fuel pumps improperly on the Louis St. Laurent arctic icebreaker cost $6 million
Fraser also detailed another incident in which the failure to properly bolt down an engine cost taxpayers $1.6 million.
"In some cases, it's like teaching an old dog new tricks. You take someone who's been on the sea 30 years and he knows his boat. Sometimes you fix it with a rubber band and a straight pin," Hearn said.
Fisheries and Oceans, which oversees the Coast Guard, said the agency is already at work to address some of its failures.
"A realistic and incremental approach is now being developed to address these matters over the longer term, beginning with a manageable number of key priorities," the department wrote to Fraser.
With a report from CTV's Graham Richardson and files from The Canadian Press
http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20070213%2fauditor_general_070213&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True
Auditor General Sheila Fraser keelhauled the Canadian Coast Guard in her latest report, saying it is burdened with aging ships and rife with incompetence.
CTV.ca News Staff
Auditor General Sheila Fraser discusses her report at a news conference in Ottawa, Feb. 13, 2007. (CP / Tom Hanson)
Monitoring Canada's fish stocks are a key responsibility, yet constant breakdowns have kept boats tied to wharfs.
As a result, scientific missions have been cancelled, leading to inaccurate information about fish flowing to government.
"The information is at best dated and may not be as accurate as it should be," Fraser told reporters Tuesday in Ottawa.
"Our Coast Guard has not been able to do any of the surveys on the fish stocks since 2001," Robert Fife, CTV's Ottawa bureau chief, told Newsnet. "So we have been making valuations on fish stock without any proper analysis because the fish stock surveys have not been carried out."
Last year, the entire spring survey of the Newfoundland region was cancelled because two vessels were out of service. However, Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn announced a limited fishery in one area.
Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer told reporters: "As long as the Coast Guard stays within the clutches of Fisheries and Oceans, it will go the way of the codfish."
Fraser said that the Coast Guard has demonstrated a history "of failing to complete corrective action on issues raised in our reports and the reports of parliamentary committees."
This is costing Canadians, she said.
For example, a lack of national repair standards and procedures means millions have been wasted on unnecessary repair jobs -- and in some cases, incompetent ones -- on the aging fleet, she found.
Some examples:
An engine caught fire after the crew aboard a research vessel fixed an engine without the manual, costing $1.3 million in damage.
The repair of two potable water tanks that was supposed to cost $53,000 ended up costing $1.6 million in extra fix-it work.
Rebuilding fuel pumps improperly on the Louis St. Laurent arctic icebreaker cost $6 million
Fraser also detailed another incident in which the failure to properly bolt down an engine cost taxpayers $1.6 million.
"In some cases, it's like teaching an old dog new tricks. You take someone who's been on the sea 30 years and he knows his boat. Sometimes you fix it with a rubber band and a straight pin," Hearn said.
Fisheries and Oceans, which oversees the Coast Guard, said the agency is already at work to address some of its failures.
"A realistic and incremental approach is now being developed to address these matters over the longer term, beginning with a manageable number of key priorities," the department wrote to Fraser.
With a report from CTV's Graham Richardson and files from The Canadian Press