Additional questions about the sub fleets’ future have been raised Monday and Tuesday after the CBC obtained photos showing the extent of the damage on the Corner Brook, which slammed into the ocean floor last summer.
The photos showing a 10-foot by 12-foot hole in the front of the submarine. They were taken by someone who had access to the submarine as it was being lifted out of the water at 4 a.m. sometime last summer. It’s the first time the public and media have been given an idea of the extent of the damage since the Navy has not released any pictures.
The photos have already prompted political commentators to allege the RCN, worried about yet another round of negative publicity, tried to cover-up the full extent of the damage. Those types of allegations were also made in the Commons on Tuesday.
Rear Admiral Mark Norman, Deputy Commander, Royal Canadian Navy, went on CBC Monday to explain the situation. He said the damage, while looking pretty bad to the public, was not a big deal. He described it as being akin to a “fender bender” you might have with your car.
Norman claimed the Navy was indeed “open and transparent” about the whole situation since anyone could have put in an Access to Information request to obtain a copy of the 85-page report which examined the incident.
But Norman’s open and transparent argument, using the example of the Access law, had some in NDHQ rolling their eyeballs in disbelief. (Sources say the Navy is neither open nor transparent on the issue and has been fighting against any release of information on the situation.)
MacKay echoed Norman’s claims, however, pointing to the two brief news releases issued by the Navy as proof positive that openness and transparency is the order of the day in the maritime service.
And for good measure, he accused the NDP MP who asked the question about the subs during Question Period of being against the men and women of the Canadian Forces.
MacKay added that the Harper government is committed to all four boats. “We will continue the maintenance on the entire submarine fleet,” told reporters Tuesday. “We hope to have full operational capability in the year 2013, at which time we will have three of four submarines continually available for operations, two on each coast is the plan, and this will include a high readiness submarine in both the Atlantic and Pacific ports.”
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: David Pugliese
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