An RCMP patrol vessel based in Hamilton will protect our harbour, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway from terrorism as part of a $300-million marine security plan unveiled yesterday.

The proposed base for the 40-metre boat will be the Canada Centre for Inland Waters and will be staffed by the Canadian Coast Guard.
The boat -- one of four -- is expected to be in place by 2009.

It's one of several initiatives announced yesterday by government house leader and Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MP Tony Valeri at the Canada Marine Discovery Centre.
The five-year federal initiative -- originally announced in the 2005 federal budget -- is designed to enhance security of Canada's marine transportation system, particularly inland waterways and ports.

Under the plan, Hamilton is also a priority site for a marine security centre, which would serve as a base of operations for civilian and military teams responsible for detecting, assessing and responding to marine security threats.

Jeff Brookfield, vice-president of operations for the Hamilton Port Authority, praised the announcement and said it would fill in "a lot of the holes and gaps on the Great Lakes."
"At face value, it sounds like some of the initiatives we've been asking for for a long time, particularly with respect to the waterside security effort," Brookfield said. "We certainly don't have the resources to give waterside security the effort that it requires."

He said improved security would make Hamilton attractive to international traders and would also lead to greater expansion of port operations.

About 13-million tonnes of cargo -- mostly petroleum, iron ore and coal -- moves through Hamilton Harbour.

The high flow of traffic makes security a significant concern. The port authority recently received $130,000 from the federal government for security upgrades.

The announcement comes a year after the federal government released a $690-million national security policy that cracks down on terrorist threats on Canadian soil. The policy identified the marine sector as an important element to national security.

Roy Cullen, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, was also on hand for the announcement.

The $300-million plan includes:

* Establishing Royal Canadian Mounted Police emergency response teams in Toronto and Montreal to manage on-water terrorist incidents;

* Adding the four new patrol vessels to be crewed by the RCMP and the Canadian Coast Guard;

* Installing new communication equipment to improve federal interagency, on-water response;

* Implementing new technologies to screen incoming marine containers for radioactive materials;

* Enhancing the co-ordination of waterside security.

Valeri said the funding announcement confirms Canada's commitment to marine security and is the latest in a string of enhancements since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States.

The federal government has spent more than $9 billion to protect Canada's borders against terrorist threats. More than $930 million has been spent on marine security. About 110-million tonnes of cargo move between Canada and the United States via waterways and coastal ports every year.
Valeri said Hamilton was singled out because of the high volume of cargo traffic moving through the harbour and the need to get shipments to their destinations as quickly as possible.

"For higher density areas like the Golden Horseshoe, greater security co-ordination will help with the flow of transportation through this region. This will give greater confidence to Hamilton's marine shipping community that the traffic to and from will not face unnecessary delays," he added.

Valeri stressed security at Hamilton's ports is adequate. However, he said international partners look at the effectiveness of Canada's marine security measures and that they meet international standards, not only for vessels but for ports themselves.

"Where those vessels stop and unload cargo needs to have security standards in place so that there is no break in the link, and so it's important for us to meet that standard and that's what we've done," the government house leader said.