Canada will pump $816 million into maritime security over the next seven years to strengthen the coast guard’s capabilities from the high Arctic to the country’s southern coast lines, Defence Minister David McGuinty announced Friday.
“This is an investment in Canada’s Arctic security,” McGuinty said in Iqaluit. “It’s an investment in the people who protect these waters. It’s an investment in our sovereignty. It’s an investment in the people who live here.”
McGuinty said that while the money will be used on Canada’s East and West Coasts, in the Great Lakes and in the St. Lawrence River, the funding would focus specifically on strengthening security and defence capabilities in the Arctic.
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I’m a little surprised that there hasn’t (as far as I know) been any talk about arming the coast guard - the way things are headed, it seems a little inevitable.
