Canadian navy aims for support from women
The Royal Canadian Navy is on a charm offensive, given the Liberal government’s plans to increase defence spending by 73 per cent to $62 billion over the next decade.
Before the 2016 federal budget, Canadians were asked for their 15 top picks for where their money should be spent. Defence spending was 14th.
Canadians may love the idea of peacekeepers, but are less keen on combat troops. We’ve largely been content to spend the bare minimum on the military despite evidence that more is needed to keep the navy afloat and its aging aircraft in the air.
For most Canadians — women in particular — the military isn’t a priority. Even against the backdrop of rising tensions worldwide, the proposed spending increase is a risk for the Liberals.
Earlier this week, 80 women leaders (including Saskatchewan’s Lt.-Gov. Vaughn Schofield) spent a day on the HMCS Regina in Vancouver. Only a few had ever been on a warship before.
But if their reactions are any indication, more familiarity with the military might just work.
Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief were at the top of the mission statement in the PowerPoint presentation, followed by monitoring seaborne activities, deterrence, antiterrorism and full combat operations.
Commodore Marta Mulkins, who made the presentation, embodies Canadians’ complicated relationship with the military.
“A girlfriend wanted to join the navy because she had a crush on a boy in the navy,” Mulkins said. “So, we did. I was in CEGEP (pre-college in Quebec) and at the end of the summer I was hooked.”
A reservist, Mulkins is currently working full-time as commander of the naval reserve after having been the first woman to command a Canadian warship. In civilian life, she’s a landscape architect.
The day trip highlighted advanced weapons and navigational systems.
HMCS Regina was one of the last of the 12 Halifax-class frigates to be returned to service after a $4.3-billion upgrade.
The simulated attack by air and sea played out like a video game only with real people shouting out and confirming orders because their lives might depend on getting it right.
The visiting women clung to the rails as the ship travelling at close to 30 knots, zigged and zagged, proving its manoeuvrability.
The rescue dummy in the man-overboard drill was out of the water within five minutes of the alarm.
An aging and soon-to-be-replaced Sea King helicopter hovered only a few metres above the water, demonstrating its rescue capabilities.
But the subtext was how badly underfunded the navy has been.
Marine systems engineer Lt. Kira Yakimovich explained everything from the ship’s engines to its water pipes using a large, interactive computer screen. Her excitement about the big touchscreen seemed odd until she explained that until 2014, all of the mechanical information was logged manually.
Mounted on the rear deck are two .50-calibre Browning machine guns. Designed in the 1920s, they are the second line of defence after torpedoes and missiles. When four of the women had a chance to try them (shooting blanks), both jammed several times. To be fair, the machine guns are used by armies all over the world. But it was another reminder.
The frigates will remain the Navy’s workhorses until 15 new warships are completed in 2020 or 2021.
The day’s message was that Canada’s well-trained sailors are doing the absolute best with what they’ve got. So, imagine how much more they could do with more. And conversely, imagine what might happen if they don’t have what they need to protect themselves, and us.