Canada’s Coast Guard has no plans to fight in any conflict — and has been told to simply leave if war erupts, MPs were told this week.Blacklock's Reporter says Deputy Commissioner Marc Mes told the Commons defence committee that despite being moved under the supervision of the Department of National Defence, the Coast Guard’s role remains strictly civilian.“If there were anything, we leave,” Mes said flatly. “We wouldn’t be involved in any sort of act of war.”Mes said the Coast Guard’s duties would stay limited to search and rescue, environmental response, and navigation aids. “We are not going to be in a situation where we are tasked in a conflict,” he added.The Coast Guard, with an annual budget of $2.4 billion, was transferred to the defence department on Sept. 2 as part of Ottawa’s efforts to boost NATO-related spending calculations. .Defence officials said the move was meant to “enhance coordination” and “strengthen Canada’s maritime security.”Conservative MPs questioned whether that security claim holds up if Coast Guard crews are ordered to retreat in wartime. “Are there any plans underway to arm cutters or provide them with extra equipment?” asked MP Cheryl Gallant. Mes confirmed there were none, though he acknowledged a Coast Guard vessel was once fired upon — in a 1993 clash with cigarette smugglers near Cornwall, Ont.MP Jeff Kibble also pressed officials on whether unarmed ships could defend themselves or intercept hostile vessels. .“No, we will not,” Mes replied. “Our vessels are not designed for that.”Deputy Commissioner Andy Smith said the Coast Guard would play “a security role, not a defence role.” He emphasized that its ships will remain unarmed and civilian.That answer did little to reassure some MPs. “Foreign nations such as China will not see it that way,” Kibble warned, noting that American Coast Guard vessels are treated as combat targets because they are armed.Smith dismissed the comparison, saying, “The Canadian Coast Guard will not form part of the Canadian Armed Forces, and to classify Coast Guard ships as combatants is somewhat speculative.”
