Navy vessels head north for 2013 Nanook sovereignty exercise

The HMCS Summerside is one of two coastal defence vessels to participate in this year’s Operation Nanook. (FILE PHOTO)

The HMSC Shawinigan will be joining the HMSC Summerside in Arctic waters for the 2013 Operation Nanook sovereignty exercise. (FILE PHOTO)

The HMCS Summerside left Halifax July 29, heading north to Arctic waters, where the navy vessel will be joined later in August by the HMCS Shawinigan.

This deployment of the two coastal defence vessels is a part of a 39-day mission north of the 60th parallel, which marks the Royal Canadian Navy’s longest uninterrupted Arctic naval presence in recent years, a Department of Defence news release said.

During the exercise, the Summerside and the Shawinigan will participate in Operation Qimmiq — year-round surveillance of the Arctic — and Operation Nanook — the annual summer exercise in the North, the release said.

“With these ship deployments the Royal Canadian Navy will, alongside other government departments, establish a visible and important federal presence in our northern communities during the next two months. The ships will also be pre-positioned to participate in our largest annual northern training and sovereignty activity, Operation Nanook,” said General Tom Lawson, chief of the defence staff.

Billing it as a “sovereignty operation,” Ottawa has conducted Operation Nanook exercises every year since 2007.

“The deployment of maritime coastal defence vessels in Canada’s northern waters serves as an example of how our navy demonstrates sovereignty in the North and, when authorized, assist other government departments in enforcing national and international law,” said Vice Admiral Mark Norman, commander of the RCN.

“The experience will also help us prepare the stage for more extensive operations in the ice, to be conducted in the future by our Arctic and offshore patrol ships, by ironing out some of the logistical and operating challenges generated by the sheer distances, remoteness, and generally harsher environmental conditions in the North.”

Billing it as a “sovereignty operation,” Ottawa has conducted Operation Nanook exercises every year since 2007.

Focusing mostly on disaster response and law enforcement, these operations bring branches of the armed forces together with numerous civilian agencies, including the Coast Guard, Transport Canada, the RCMP, Public Safety Canada and territorial governments.

This year, Ottawa plans mock emergencies in four places:

• Resolution Island

The RCMP and the armed forces will play out a scenario that involves “suspected suspicious activity” on Resolution Island, which lies just past the mouth of Frobisher Bay in Hudson Strait. This exercise will include a transfer at sea between a Royal Canadian Navy vessel and a Coast Guard vessel, as well as a shore landing.

• King William Island

Canadian Rangers will conduct “sovereignty patrols” and report on “activities” in the Northwest Passage.

• Cornwallis Island

The Canadian Armed Forces, working with hunters, will respond to “suspected poaching activity” that falls within the law enforcement mandate of Environment Canada.

• Whitehorse

The armed forces will work with the City of Whitehorse and the Government of Yukon on a mock disaster relief exercise that responds to a wildfire.