The National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS) was an independent portfolio organization within the Government of Canada's Department of National Defence, established in 1986 as one of the recommendations resulting from the Royal Commission of Enquiry into the Ocean Ranger disaster.
The Government of Canada, officially Her Majesty's Government, is the federal administration of Canada. In Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council. In both senses, the current construct was established at Confederation through the Constitution Act, 1867—as a federal constitutional monarchy, wherein the Canadian Crown acts as the core, or "the most basic building block", of its Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The Crown is thus the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Canadian government. Further elements of governance are outlined in the rest of the Canadian Constitution, which includes written statutes, court rulings, and unwritten conventions developed over centuries.
Ocean Ranger was a semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit that sank in Canadian waters on 15 February 1982. It was drilling an exploration well on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, 267 kilometres (166 mi) east of St. John's, Newfoundland, for Mobil Oil of Canada, Ltd. (MOCAN) with 84 crew members on board when it sank. There were no survivors.
From 1986 to 2015, the NSS reported to the Lead Minister for Search and Rescue (LMSAR), who was the Minister of National Defence. The NSS supported and promoted the coordination of the National Search and Rescue Program. This included facilitating the work of the Ground Search and Rescue Council of Canada and the federal Interdepartmental Committee on Search and Rescue (ICSAR). ICSAR members include:
The Minister of National Defence is a Minister of the Crown and is the politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the management and direction of all matters relating to the national defence of Canada. The Department of National Defence is headed by the Deputy Minister of National Defence, the department's senior civil servant, while the Canadian Armed Forces are headed by the Chief of the Defence Staff, Canada's senior serving military officer. Both are responsible to the Minister. The Queen of Canada is the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces and has final authority on all orders and laws for the "defence of the realm". The minister is responsible, through the tenets of responsible government, to Parliament for "the management and direction of the Canadian Forces". Any orders and instructions for the Canadian Armed Forces are issued by or through the Chief of the Defence Staff. The Department of National Defence exists to aid the minister in carrying out his responsibilities, and acts as the civilian support system for the Canadian Forces.
The National Search and Rescue Program (NSP) is the name given by the Government of Canada to the collective search and rescue (SAR) activities in Canada. Until 2015, the NSP was administered by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS).
The Department of National Defence, commonly abbreviated as DND, is a Canadian government department responsible for defending Canada's interests and values at home and abroad.
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue, communication, navigation and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and icebreaking, marine pollution response and providing support for other Canadian government initiatives. The coast guard operates 119 vessels of varying sizes and 22 helicopters, along with a variety of smaller craft. The Canadian Coast Guard is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, and is a special operating agency within Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, frequently referred to as Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), is the department within the government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland waters. Its mandate includes responsibility for the conservation and sustainable use of Canada's fisheries resources while continuing to provide safe, effective and environmentally sound marine services that are responsive to the needs of Canadians in a global economy. The stated vision of the department is "Excellence in service to Canadians to ensure the sustainable development and safe use of Canadian waters."
NSS worked with provincial and territorial SAR authorities to develop and standardize SAR services. NSS also funded research, studies, workshops and conferences, as well as publishing the quarterly SARSCENE magazine. The NSS also coordinated the Canadian contribution to the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite alerting system, and for several years managed the Canadian registry for distress beacons.
Another recommendation from the Ocean Ranger disaster was to establish the "SAR New Initiatives Fund" (NIF), a federal contribution program that provides funding for new projects or initiatives that will improve the National Search and Rescue Program.
In July 2015, the National SAR Secretariat was moved out of the Defence portfolio and incorporated into the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. It is no longer managed as a separate portfolio organization with dedicated corporate functions (communications, finance, grants/contribution programs).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Related Research Articles
A coast guard or coastguard, is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue functions and lacking any law enforcement powers. However, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from typical functions of both the navy and a transportation police.
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water.
The following list outlines the structure of the federal government of Canada.
The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage, is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity and values, cultural development, and heritage". To fulfill these tasks, the department coordinates a portfolio of several agencies and corporations that operate in a similar area of interest. While the roles and responsibilities of the Department of Canadian Heritage have remained relatively constant over the years, the department and composition of its portfolio remain in flux due to continuing structural changes.
Transport Canada is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities (TIC) portfolio. The current Minister of Transport is Marc Garneau. Transport Canada is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario.
Public Safety Canada, formerly known as Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC), legally incorporated as the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, is the department of the federal government of Canada with responsibility for protecting Canadians and helping to maintain a peaceful and safe society.
Canada Command was one of the four operational commands of the Canadian Forces from 2006 to 2012, responsible for routine domestic and continental operations, such as search and rescue, sovereignty patrol, national security coordination and contingency planning. As an operational formation, Canada Command used resources generated from the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces: the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. The command was merged into the Canadian Joint Operations Command in October 2012.
The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary is a Canada-wide volunteer marine association dedicated to marine search and rescue (SAR) and the promotion of boating safety, through association with the Canadian Coast Guard under the auspices of Canada's National Search and Rescue Program.
The Civil Air Search and Rescue Association or CASARA, is a Canada-wide volunteer aviation association dedicated to the promotion of aviation safety, and to the provision of air search support services to Canada's National Search and Rescue Program. The association began in 1986 and is funded by the Department of National Defence.
Emergency Management BC (EMBC) used to be known as the Provincial Emergency Program and is a division of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General of British Columbia, Canada. EMBC works with local governments and other provincial and federal agencies year round, providing coordination and support before, during and after emergencies. EMBC is administered under the Emergency Program Act.
Citizen Corps is a program under the Department of Homeland Security that provides training for the population of the United States to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack. Each local Citizen Corps Council partners with organizations, volunteers and businesses to organize responders, volunteers and professional first responders for an efficient response so efforts aren't wasted by being duplicated. By training in Incident Command, volunteers know who to report to and how the incident is organized. This prevents sites from being inundated by untrained and unprepared people milling about and getting in the way. Citizen Corps also works in conjunction with the Corporation for National and Community Service in promoting national service opportunities for promoting homeland security needs.
Keith Hutchings, is a Canadian politician in Newfoundland and Labrador and is the Opposition House Leader for the Progressive Conservative Party caucus. Since 2007, he has represented the district of Ferryland in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria is a rescue coordination centre operated by the 1 Canadian Air Division and manned by personnel of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).
The International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) is a network of disaster-prone and disaster-responding countries and organizations dedicated to urban search and rescue (USAR) and operational field coordination. It aims to establish standards and classification for international USAR teams as well as methodology for international response coordination in the aftermath of earthquakes and collapsed structure disasters. The INSARAG Secretariat is located in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) is a California cabinet-level agency responsible for overseeing and coordinating emergency preparedness, response, recovery and homeland security activities within the state. The agency was created by AB 38 (2008), superseding both the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Office of Homeland Security (OHS).
In the United States, mountain rescue is handled by professional teams within some national parks and by volunteer teams elsewhere. Volunteer teams are often members of the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA).
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) is a volunteer marine rescue service that saves lives and promotes public recreational boating safety throughout the coastal and some inland waters of the province of British Columbia and is associated with the national organization of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Many countries around the world have civil defense organizations dedicated to protecting civilians from military attacks and providing rescue services after widespread disasters. In most countries, civil defense is a government-managed and often volunteer-staffed organization.
