The Canadian Coast Guard, 1962–2002

Gordon Turner is the author of Empress of Britain: Canadian Pacific’s
Greatest Ship and the editor of SeaFare, a quarterly newsletter on sea
travel.

The Canadian Coast Guard performs many of its duties far from the public
eye, and its achievements are often unknown to the majority of
Canada’s inhabitants. Still, it has an important role to play, and in
its first 40 years it has earned an enviable reputation among those who
are aware of its achievements. Maginley’s history of the organization
is thoroughly researched and capably written.

Since its inception in 1962, some of the Coast Guard’s functions have
remained constant over the years, yet others have altered considerably.
In the early 1960s, for example, oil spills and pollution were seen as
more of an irritant than a serious environmental problem. Nowadays, the
Coast Guard plays an active part in prevention as well as cleanup. The
presence of Coast Guard ships in the Arctic helps reinforce Canada’s
claims to sovereignty, but that is only one aspect of their
responsibilities in The North; from time to time they have delivered
supplies to remote settlements and served as research laboratories and
medical clinics.

The sea is a hard taskmaster: ships sink, run aground or become
disabled, boaters discover that their seafaring skills are inadequate.
Crews must be rescued, which requires the search-and-rescue expertise of
the Coast Guard, sometimes in collaboration with other life-saving
groups. Maginley describes the development of the Coast Guard from the
time of its predecessors up to its 40th anniversary. He includes
chapters on how it functions administratively, the rigorous training its
personnel receive, and the kinds of navigation and communication
equipment that allow it to function effectively. If these topics seem a
little dry at times, they are more than offset by gripping anecdotes
about dramatic rescues, tales of fighting the elements to prevent oil
spills from spreading, and accounts of icebreaking techniques for
ensuring that trapped ships may move freely.

The Canadian Coast Guard, 1962–2002 is a comprehensive and readable
tribute to an organization that serves Canada well but rarely makes the
headlines.