FRONTLINE COMMENTARY

OTHER FRONTLINE BLOGS

▶ Your government may be funding terrorism
▶ Would Canada turn to Russia for heavy icebreaking?
▶ Will political interference lead to more resignations?
▶ Wildfire Responder Support
▶ What to watch for in 2016
▶ Venezuela needs a new election says Trudeau
▶ Vaccines roll out with military precision
▶ Vaccine roll-out critical to public confidence
▶ Update on failure to act
▶ Unravelling the Omar Khadr payoff
▶ Uber suffers massive databreach in Singapore
▶ U.S. shuts down its cyber policy office
▶ U.S. cybersecurity found "partly successful"
▶ Trudeau convenes Incident Response Group
▶ Tolerance of hate allows it to take root and flourish
▶ Time to modernize immigration and refugee systems
▶ Time for Targeted Screening ...
▶ Thwarted terrorist attack still raises questions
▶ The semantics of responding to terrorism
▶ The Legalization of Corruption in Canada
▶ The Great(er) Game: political rhetoric
▶ The allure of the right-wing vortex
▶ The Ahousaht Spirit
▶ Terror spooks Singapore
▶ Synopsis of Govt Economic Statement
▶ Swift water BC rescues raise key questions
▶ Suggestions for the Syrian Refugee Initiative
▶ Strategic military alliances are more critical today
▶ Special Report: Illicit Tobacco Trade
▶ SNC-Lavalin crisis deepens as Gerald Butts resigns
▶ SNC-Lavalin case should kick-start changes
▶ Singapore passes law to secure buildings
▶ Singapore delays much vaunted cybersecurity law
▶ Singapore arrests two for terrorism-linked activities
▶ Selling UN Peacekeeping to Canadians
▶ Security: working with the Trump Administration
▶ Security concerns still in the shadows
▶ Securetech 2015 - an assessment
▶ Searching for GSAR Jurisdiction
▶ Safety note to all camels: do not sit on women
▶ Response to far-right violence a low priority
▶ Report on Money Laundering in Canada
▶ Remember the lessons of the polio vaccine
▶ Reality check for the PM
▶ Quebecers on niqabs and border crossings
▶ Professor Emeritus MARTIN RUDNER
▶ Preventive options under the Criminal Code
▶ Parliamentary cell phones at risk for spying
▶ Ontario Budget 2021
▶ On a Razor's Edge
▶ NSICOP turns focus onto CBSA administration
▶ NSICOP report expected before year end
▶ Next step for Canadian gun controls
▶ New RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki
▶ New Parliamentary National Security Committee
▶ New era, as Opposition vows to be "constructive"
▶ Much Ado about Cyber
▶ More secrecy in govt now, thanks to Access to Info
▶ Moncton Review: What more can be done?
▶ Mohammed Harkat back in the news
▶ Malaysia Detains Human Trafficker
▶ Looking for project funding?
▶ Liberals poised to shut down specialty publications
▶ Let 2021 be the year of sweeping redress
▶ Lessons to be learned from Toronto attack
▶ Legal semantics of the "preferred outcome"
▶ Leaked intelligence hampers investigation
▶ Lack of respect for sacrifice at Whole Foods
▶ Kudos to the government
▶ Keeping an eye on CBSA deportations
▶ Just Fighting ISIS is a Fatally Flawed Strategy
▶ It's okay as long as you believe it's okay
▶ ISIS has never been this dangerous
▶ Is Trump a symptom of complacent liberal democracy?
▶ Is SNC-Lavalin affair a sign of deeper scandal?
▶ Is China a Friend to Canada, or Not?
▶ Is Canada becoming a freeloader again?
▶ Is AI technology creating an ethical dilemma?
▶ Interlinked criminals are driving law enforcement
▶ Implications of the 2019 federal elections
▶ Immigration targets are too high says poll
▶ How will 'events' shape this government?
▶ How the Throne Speech impacts safety & security
▶ How language defines home-grown terrorism
▶ Hope emerges after four years of shade
▶ Green may be the new Gold for October voters
▶ Government takes action, appeals STCA ruling
▶ Global poll on threats to Safety & Security
▶ Global arms imports show disturbing trend
▶ Give Credit Where it's Due
▶ Free Trade with China ignores security concerns
▶ Focus Down Under
▶ Federal Election and the Protection of Personal Information
▶ Federal Court Ruling Needs to be Appealed
▶ Electronic Warfare LOI released 5 Feb 2019
▶ COVID-19 preventative measures
▶ Contemplating the Ransomware from Hell
▶ Consumers want mandatory GMO labeling
▶ Consult before closing down SAR dive crew
▶ Comments from the PM's Security Advisor
▶ Closing dive rescue team a big mistake
▶ Climate change affects national security says report
▶ Climate Change
▶ Cheques to terrorists is not the answer
▶ Charges stayed against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman
▶ Changing the dialogue – Securetech Day1
▶ Change required at Correctional Services
▶ Cdns disapprove of govt handling of asylum seekers
▶ Cdn Primer to the G20 Summit in Germany
▶ CCG Rescue Dive Team back on duty
▶ Canadians on their own if fighting for ISIS
▶ Canada should stand strong in trade negotiations
▶ Canada mostly ignores US rhetoric about The Wall
▶ Canada losing control of its border security
▶ Can Canada be an Honest Broker on Ukraine?
▶ Building Resilience to Terrorism
▶ Bizarre BC court ruling exposed
▶ Bill C-437 would support families of homicide victims
▶ Be careful what you wish for
▶ Arguments heard on STCA Appeal
▶ Al-Qaeda Warns Myanmar
▶ Aftermath of the President's Speech
▶ After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News
▶ AERO Montréal
▶ A New Agenda on the Horizon?
▶ A more assertive EU in a volatile world
▶ 2019 Def-Sec Budget overview
▶ "Wynn's Law" legislation doing the right thing
▶ "New" terrorism and vulnerable “soft targets”
K. Joseph Spears
K. Joseph Spears's picture
K. Joseph Spears
CCG Rescue Dive Team back on duty

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Terry Beech announced yesterday in Ottawa that the government of Canada was reversing the decision to cancel the Canadian Coast Guard's dive rescue program on Canada's West Coast.

The program is unique – found nowhere else in Canada. The rationale for having this  robust underwater rescue capability has been highlighted in my earlier FrontLine blog post and another by Blair Gilmore.

K. Joseph Spears
Consult before closing down SAR dive crew

With the wide variety of marine activity in the waters around Vancouver and Victoria, it is easy to see why the Canadian Coast Guard decision to cancel its only rescue diving program came as a shock.

K. Joseph Spears
The Ahousaht Spirit

The recent sinking during a whale watching expedition highlights the importance of a robust search and rescue capacity and marine response infrastructure that includes the First Nations.