Operating Environment and Challenges for Helicopters

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) carries out its responsibilities on a daily basis in some of the most demanding, challenging and severe operational and environmental conditions known:

• a coastline of unparalleled length and ruggedness;
• isolated or remote locations that are not accessible by conventional modes of transportation;
• the sheer harshness of the environment in these locations often disrupts plans and priorities. Scheduled activities may have to be postponed or brought forward as a result of storm damage, and resources redeployed on short notice. Requires a flexible response capability for a successful operation;
• interruptions and failures of marine aids to navigation, which the CCG is obligated to maintain and service, can have serious commercial, environmental and, for mariners, personal consequences, placing a premium on the ability to respond quickly and restore services;
• constantly changing weather conditions necessitate a high degree of flexibility. When important missions have to be cancelled or curtailed due to adverse weather, we must be able to respond as soon as conditions improve to meet service targets and obligations;
• operational requirements for speed and flexibility, both in the tasking of personnel and equipment, implies a degree of uncertainty in the work lives of the CCG's employees. The government's initiatives to foster wellness in the workplace and thereby mitigate the stresses of uncertainty for its employees means they must be supported by equipment that is well matched to the operational requirements of the work they perform; and
• safety and financial considerations place restrictions on the working hours of technical and construction crews, making it imperative to minimize transit times so that the crew productivity can be maximized.

The CCG has responded to this challenge by assembling a well-trained, experienced and committed workforce, by deploying this workforce at strategically-positioned bases throughout the country, and by supporting it with a diverse and well-maintained fleet of surface, sea and air vehicles. Helicopters and the method in which they are used are an integral and essential component of this fleet.

About Canada's harsh terrain

Surrounded by the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and home to the Great Lakes, Canada boasts the world's:

• longest coastline (243, 792 km) - 25% of the world's coastline;
• largest offshore economic zone (200 nautical miles) - 3.7 million square kilometers, equivalent to 37% of Canada's total landmass;
• largest freshwater system - Canada's 2 million lakes and rivers cover 7.6% of its landmass or 755,000 square km;
• longest inland waterway (3,700 km) - from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Lake Superior; and,
• largest archipelago - Canada's Arctic islands, including 6 of the world's 30 largest islands, cover 1.4 million square km. 

A Bell 212 on a helicopter pad at a remote lightstation.

A typical view from a Coast Guard helicopter flying low level along a coastline.

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