Just weeks after a Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopter flew him from his vacation spot to an awaiting Challenger jet, Defence Minister Peter MacKay was warned there were barely enough of the choppers to meet normal rescue requirements, according to newly released documents.
MacKay was told by the air force that for years ongoing technical problems and a lack of parts had significantly reduced the Cormorant fleet's "mission readiness for both training and operations."
"A high rate of SAR activity this summer and a corrosion repair program has further exacerbated this capability gap," the Sept. 1, 2010, briefing note for MacKay pointed out. The term SAR refers to search and rescue.
MacKay has been under fire in the Commons after his office requested the Cormorant pick him up at the salmon fishing lodge he was vacationing at near Gander, N.L., in July 2010.
Opposition MPs have complained MacKay used the search-and-rescue helicopter as a "personal taxi" and that he redirected scarce military resources for his own purposes.
Concerns about the lack of search-and-rescue aircraft in Newfoundland has been a particular sore point among provincial government officials and those who make their living from the ocean. But MacKay's office has countered that the flight gave the minister a chance to see search-and-rescue personnel at work.
The minister, however, has been on board Cormorants on at least two other occasions, according to the Defence Department.
MacKay was picked up at the salmon fishing lodge by the Cormorant and flown to Gander. He was later taken by a military Challenger jet to London, Ont., for a news conference to announce a $34-million contract to upgrade armoured vehicles. He then took the Challenger jet to attend a lobster carnival in his home riding in Nova Scotia.
MacKay has defended himself against opposition claims by arguing that he cut his vacation short to "participate" in a Cormorant exercise.
His office has stated that previous efforts by the Canadian Forces to demonstrate search-and-rescue capabilities had been cancelled over the last three years and this time the situation presented itself with an opportunity for the minister to see such an exercise.
Canada had 15 Cormorants, but one crashed in 2006.
According to the briefing note for MacKay, three of the helicopters have been continually grounded as they were "robbed" of critical parts to service the remainder of the fleet. At the time, the military had various initiatives under way to get critical spare parts, it added.
"In the meantime, Cormorant fleet availability is barely adequate to meet normal SAR standby requirements," the document informed MacKay. The Citizen obtained it through the Access to Information law.
The military has said that Cormorant training had already been planned that day and the flight to pick up the minister was considered training. If needed, the helicopter could have been used in a rescue, it added. MacKay was hoisted on board the helicopter, which then flew to Gander. Military officials did not know whether other search-and-rescue activities were displayed to the minister.
MacKay also invoked the war against the Taliban and support for Canadian soldiers in his explanation as to why he used the Challenger to fly to London instead of taking a commercial flight. His office noted in a statement that in London "he announced a $34.4-million Armoured Vehicles Upgrade Project to better protect our men and women in uniform fighting for Canada against the Taliban."
The upgrade program had been announced a year before at a news conference held by MacKay in New Brunswick. The contract MacKay announced in London marked the beginning of the initial work on the upgrade program. The main contract has not yet been signed and it's not clear whether the vehicles will be operating with front-line units by the time Canada is expected to pull out of its training mission in Afghanistan in 2014.
MacKay's office also defended his use of the Challenger to travel to the annual Pictou Lobster Carnival in his Central Nova riding by stating that the trip was official business. It noted that the lobster carnival is a major tourism event and the defence minister was there in his role as a regional minister.
This year MacKay also attended the carnival, but there is no indication he used a military jet to get there. His website pointed out that at this year's event "he retained his lobster banding champion title in the celebrity division."
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