The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGA; , ''GCAC'') 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 The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...

under the auspices of Canada's National Search and Rescue Program.

Mandate

Members of the CCGA are usually recreational boaters and commercial fishermen who use their vessels to assist the Canadian Coast Guard with search and rescue (SAR) as well as boating safety education. CCGA members who assist in SAR operations have their vessel insurance covered by CCG, as well as any fuel and operating costs associated with a particular tasking. The CCGA enables the CCG to provide maritime SAR coverage in many isolated areas of Canada's coastlines without having to maintain an active base and/or vessels in those areas. The auxiliary is dedicated to providing a permanent day and night search and rescue service to cover marine requirements in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and prevent the loss of life and injury. * Save lives at risk * Reduce the number and severity of SAR incidents * Promote marine safety * Support the Canadian Coast Guard * Provide a humanitarian service * Maintain the highest professional standards * Promote dedication and pride of membership

History

Coastal lifesaving stations manned by volunteers pre-date

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...

(1867), with some coastal services in what is now Atlantic Canada dating to the early 1800s. The country's first motorized lifeboat was established in 1907 by volunteers at

Bamfield, British Columbia Bamfield is a community that is surrounded by Crown land, Crown Land, Indian reserves, First Nation Lands belonging to the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, Huu-ay-aht Nations, and portions of the Pacific Rim National Park, located on Barkley Sound, Vanc ...

. Formal responsibility for organizing and overseeing search and rescue in Canada was given to the Minister of National Defence in 1951. This responsibility mostly fell to the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF) which, in coordination with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

(ICAO), delineated search and rescue regions (SRRs) to be overseen by

rescue coordination centre A rescue co-ordination centre (RCC) is a primary search and rescue facility in a country that is staffed by supervisory personnel and equipped for co-ordinating and controlling search and rescue operations. RCCs are responsible for a geographic are ...

s (RCCs) that would manage SAR response activities. Changes to the ''

Canada Shipping Act Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

'' in 1961 and the formation of the

in 1962 saw the

Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

, which had responsibility for the CCG from 1962-1995, given responsibility for maritime search and rescue in support of the Minister of National Defence's mandate. As a result, the Minister of Transport designated "marine rescue controllers" who were CCG personnel that would work within the RCAF's rescue co-ordination centres. The RCCs were renamed joint rescue coordination centres (JRCCs) to denote the dual role of aeronautical and maritime search and rescue, as well as their joint operation by RCAF and CCG personnel. CCG search and rescue officers (CGRO) first formally recognized volunteers in 1963. Volunteer "rescue agents" were individuals with access to seaworthy boats equipped with radios and volunteer "search masters” were individuals who served as local points of communication with CCG maritime rescue controllers operating in the RCCs and Maritime Rescue Sub-Centres. A metal sign depicting a ball and square day shape (distress) and the CCG-GCC crest was provided to identify search masters. A distinctive pennant based on the design of the CCG jack was also issued: white hoist, blue fly, single red maple leaf with the letters S and R on either side of the leaf, to identify rescue agent vessels. By the mid 1970s, it became clear that a formal organization for training volunteer search and rescuers was necessary in order to improve the CCG's response to maritime search and rescue incidents, particularly in remote locations. This was confirmed in a 1975 study commissioned by CCG and led to the Canadian Marine Rescue Auxiliary or CMRA being formed in late 1978 as a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in an effort to enhance search and rescue coverage and capability, and to better coordinate volunteer efforts. The CMRA was renamed the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary or CCGA in 1997. As of 2019 the CCG has also been partnering with a number of First Nations communities to establish the Coastal Nations Coast Guard Auxiliary (CNCGA).

Current operations

Similar to its predecessor, the CMRA, the CCGA is a non-profit organization of volunteers who provide maritime search and rescue services for the federal government upon request from one of Canada's three Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCCs) and two MRSC's. CCGA units may respond on their own or may be asked to respond with regular CCG search and rescue vessels or

aircraft, as determined by the JRCC in charge of coordinating the response. Some CCGA units on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River actually have dedicated rescue vessels such as rigid hull inflatable boats similar to the Zodiac Hurricane 733 or Titan 249 XL. These vessels are owned and equipped by non-profit organizations located in the communities where the vessels are home ported but are still crewed by volunteers. The organizations, their volunteers and their vessels are part of the CCGA. In some cases the coxswains of these vessels receive fast rescue craft (FRC) training from CCG; CCG Station Bamfield in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and CCG Station Sambro in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Regions

The CCGA operations are divided into five regions which reflect the way that the

is also organized. Each region is separately incorporated and is a registered charity under the

Canada Revenue Agency The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax cre ...

with the ability to issue charitable donation receipts. ;Newfoundland and Labrador CCGA operations in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

are grouped under Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Newfoundland and Labrador) Incorporated. (see
http://ccga-nl.ca
;Maritimes CCGA operations in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

are grouped under Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Maritimes) Incorporated. (see
https://web.archive.org/web/20130814175534/http://ccgam.ca/
;Quebec CCGA operations in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

are grouped under Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Quebec) Incorporated. (see
http://www.gcac-q.ca
;Central and Arctic CCGA operations in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are grouped under Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Central and Arctic) Incorporated. (see
http://ccga-ca.com
;Pacific The CCGA program is supported by an independent corporation in

called the

Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue 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 associ ...

. RCMSAR has its origins from the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Pacific) Incorporated which re-branded itself in 2012 as RCMSAR to reflect the service's distinct geographic identity and support to multiple jurisdictions. The change assisted the public in British Columbia to better understand the community-based nature of the service and the importance of local support in maintaining rescue vessels, recruiting and training volunteers, and equipping them with the tools they need to save lives on the water. The title "Royal" was granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in February 2012 in recognition of the organization's long-standing service, broad geographic coverage, and philanthropic mandate. In 2017, RCMSAR signed a memorandum of understanding with the Province of British Columbia to allow local authorities and provincial agencies to request assistance from RCMSAR directly in times of emergency specifically related to their jurisdictions. Marine search and rescue in federal waters remains RCMSAR's core operation and primary support function. In 2017, RCMSAR also signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a relationship with the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group for the purpose of training and operational collaboration.

Uniforms

Although the majority of CCGA volunteers across Canada respond to incidents upon being tasked by a JRCC in civilian clothes, the service does have a uniform that can be worn on formal occasions and occasionally on operations. These CCGA uniforms are based on Canadian Coast Guard uniforms, however, they differ by having unique CCGA badges and insignia that are silver in colour whereas regular CCG fleet personnel have gold insignia. RCMSAR retains a distinct operational uniform that is worn as part of their crew's personal protective equipment on dedicated response vessels.

Ranks

Plaques

Image:Presented to Britannia Yacht Club in recognition of support for the Canadian Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Plaque.JPG , Presented to

Britannia Yacht Club The Britannia Yacht Club (BYC) is a private social club, yacht club and tennis club based in Britannia, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1887 by a group of cottagers. BYC is located on an extension of land at the eastern end of Lac ...

in recognition of support for the

and the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.

References

{{reflist

External links

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary - NationalCanadian Coast Guard Auxiliary - Central and Arctic Region RCMSARInternational Maritime Rescue Federationwww.TOWARF.com
Sea rescue organizations Canadian Coast Guard 1978 establishments in Canada Emergency services in Canada