Domestic and Arctic Mobility Enhancement Project

[GR66]

In my opinion securing Canadian Arctic sovereignty requires much more of an "all of government" effort than just adding some Arctic capabilities to the CAF - not saying that we shouldn't do that as well as the other things required - just that it's a relatively small part of what is needed.

Compare Alaska to Canada's North:

Area:
Alaska: 1.723 million sq. km
Cdn North: 3.496 million sq. km (NWT + Yukon + Nunavut)

Population:
Alaska: 733,391
Cdn North: 118,160

So Canada's North is twice the size of Alaska but our Northern population is 1/6th that of Alaska

When you compare the size of the top 10 population centres in Alaska and Canada's North the difference is striking:

Alaska:
Anchorage: 290,674 (almost double the total for Canada's Territories)
Fairbanks: 32,496 (over 25% of Canada's total Territorial population)
Juneau: 32,108 (over 25% of Canada's total Territorial population)
Badger: 19,182
Knik-Fairview: 18,619
College: 12,376
North Lakes: 10,262
Tanaina: 9,682
Wasilla: 9,267
Meadow Lakes: 8,773
Total Top 10: 443,439 (3.75 times the total population Canada's Territories)

Canadian Territories:
Whitehorse: 24,513
Yellowknife: 19,673
Iqaluit: 6,991
Inuvik: 3,001
Arviat: 2,766
Rankin Inlet: 2,698
Hay River: 2,380
Fort Smith: 1,749
Baker Lake: 1,653
Cambridge Bay: 1,403
Total Top 10: 66,827

Only the Territorial capitals of Whitehorse and Yellowknife would crack the top 10 list in Alaska.

I'd argue that the most effective way to defend Canada's Arctic sovereignty is to populate our Territories and grow the communities to a size that can support the kind of services and infrastructure that can enable economic growth (as well as military deployments and facilities)

 

[suffolkowner]

In my opinion securing Canadian Arctic sovereignty requires much more of an "all of government" effort than just adding some Arctic capabilities to the CAF - not saying that we shouldn't do that as well as the other things required - just that it's a relatively small part of what is needed.

Compare Alaska to Canada's North:

Area:
Alaska: 1.723 million sq. km
Cdn North: 3.496 million sq. km (NWT + Yukon + Nunavut)

Population:
Alaska: 733,391
Cdn North: 118,160

So Canada's North is twice the size of Alaska but our Northern population is 1/6th that of Alaska

When you compare the size of the top 10 population centres in Alaska and Canada's North the difference is striking:

Alaska:
Anchorage: 290,674 (almost double the total for Canada's Territories)
Fairbanks: 32,496 (over 25% of Canada's total Territorial population)
Juneau: 32,108 (over 25% of Canada's total Territorial population)
Badger: 19,182
Knik-Fairview: 18,619
College: 12,376
North Lakes: 10,262
Tanaina: 9,682
Wasilla: 9,267
Meadow Lakes: 8,773
Total Top 10: 443,439 (3.75 times the total population Canada's Territories)

Canadian Territories:
Whitehorse: 24,513
Yellowknife: 19,673
Iqaluit: 6,991
Inuvik: 3,001
Arviat: 2,766
Rankin Inlet: 2,698
Hay River: 2,380
Fort Smith: 1,749
Baker Lake: 1,653
Cambridge Bay: 1,403
Total Top 10: 66,827

Only the Territorial capitals of Whitehorse and Yellowknife would crack the top 10 list in Alaska.

I'd argue that the most effective way to defend Canada's Arctic sovereignty is to populate our Territories and grow the communities to a size that can support the kind of services and infrastructure that can enable economic growth (as well as military deployments and facilities)

who are you paying to go up there?

 

[daftandbarmy]

who are you paying to go up there?

There are over 140,000 people living there. If done right, you should be able to stand up local units beyond the scope of the current Canadian Ranger program...

Canada

Looking for information on the Arctic state of Canada? Check out our overview on environment, people, economy, policy and Arctic experts.

www.thearcticinstitute.org

 

[Kirkhill]

In my opinion securing Canadian Arctic sovereignty requires much more of an "all of government" effort than just adding some Arctic capabilities to the CAF - not saying that we shouldn't do that as well as the other things required - just that it's a relatively small part of what is needed.

Compare Alaska to Canada's North:

Area:
Alaska: 1.723 million sq. km
Cdn North: 3.496 million sq. km (NWT + Yukon + Nunavut)

Population:
Alaska: 733,391
Cdn North: 118,160

So Canada's North is twice the size of Alaska but our Northern population is 1/6th that of Alaska

When you compare the size of the top 10 population centres in Alaska and Canada's North the difference is striking:

Alaska:
Anchorage: 290,674 (almost double the total for Canada's Territories)
Fairbanks: 32,496 (over 25% of Canada's total Territorial population)
Juneau: 32,108 (over 25% of Canada's total Territorial population)
Badger: 19,182
Knik-Fairview: 18,619
College: 12,376
North Lakes: 10,262
Tanaina: 9,682
Wasilla: 9,267
Meadow Lakes: 8,773
Total Top 10: 443,439 (3.75 times the total population Canada's Territories)

Canadian Territories:
Whitehorse: 24,513
Yellowknife: 19,673
Iqaluit: 6,991
Inuvik: 3,001
Arviat: 2,766
Rankin Inlet: 2,698
Hay River: 2,380
Fort Smith: 1,749
Baker Lake: 1,653
Cambridge Bay: 1,403
Total Top 10: 66,827

Only the Territorial capitals of Whitehorse and Yellowknife would crack the top 10 list in Alaska.

I'd argue that the most effective way to defend Canada's Arctic sovereignty is to populate our Territories and grow the communities to a size that can support the kind of services and infrastructure that can enable economic growth (as well as military deployments and facilities)

Anchorage and Fairbanks are heavily influenced by USAF requirements. I could probably say the same for Kodiak, Cold Bay, King Cove, Duthc Harbor, Adak and Nome. Which would match with Alert, Eureka, Goose Bay, Gander a bunch of other Canadian stations.

...

I went looking for helicopter companies operating in the Canadian North and discovered quite a bunch of them, along with a fair number of small airlines and charter companies. It seems to me that bringing some or all of them into a Reserve system, along with the Rangers, and supporting them both with modern, government supplied equipment, to include Chinooks, Hercs and Bandvagons, would go a long way to securing the north and assisting in its continued development. As @Oldgateboatdriver has pointed out to me there are lots of local logistics operations in the north that could benefit from government support, including maritime and riverine operations.

Just helping the locals do better.

PS, I am still in favour of securing the choke points and listening stations with minimal manpower solutions.

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Colin, are you talking about Mould Bay in Prince Patrick Island?

There is a joint CANUS military automated weather station there (or there used to be AFAIK) - so that would make the ops you mention military to start with.

Moreover, there are tons of problems with your scenario that don't make sense, the first one being that, contrary to popular belief, just because an island is deserted doesn't mean that anyone can come and claim it (You may not have heard but even the Vatican is finally considering abandoning its doctrine of discovery). The 19th century of Terra Nullius legal theory has not only been discredited, but has been seen to be overridden by the Charter of the United Nations, which describes the internationally recognized borders of each state to be the borders of any nation and declaring any war to change them illegal. I know people think its only worth the paper its written on, but all nations member of the UN (and that includes China and Russia) accept that premise.

Now, with the Hans island dispute over, I defy you to find a single country out there, including Russia and China, who have issued an official map (one issued by the government or on its behalf) that indicates any of the islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago as not belonging to Canada, or as disputed or as unclaimed territory. You won't find one: nobody contests Canada's claim to its Arctic land possession.

BTW, for the curious, there are only three places on earth that are considered unclaimed under the Terra Nullius theory: One in Antarctica, one in North-East Africa and one in the Balkans (yes, I know, this last one is weird).

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

BTW, everyone, if you want to talk about "listening stations" manned or not, doesn't the whole North warning system already count as that? If you mean listening stations for surface intrusion, we already use satellites for that. If underwater, then that's more of a problem, in many places, and particularly near the shores, the area ices all the way down to the ocean floor - and then get ripped up and down with the rather large tides you have up there. The connection between the sensors (and possibly the sensors themselves depending on location) and the shore based transmission systems would need near constant repairs an/or replacement, I suspect.

I wouldn't want to be the one trying to get the environmental and tribal approvals for permission to dig protective trenches between the shore edge and the first safe place for the communication wire to pop up on the sea floor.

 

[YZT580]

who are you paying to go up there?

The weather in Alaska is a lot more forgiving than that in our north. The Pacific keeps things almost livable unless you are well inland. Alaska is also accessible by sea all year round which is not the case in our north. Roads aren't practical and railways cost too much for the limited traffic they would generate unless you want to provide a very large subsidy. Alaska has fishing and lumber as major industries, our north does not. Each has mining but the previous reasons make it practical for the mines in Alaska to have a residential component whilst ours are better serviced by fly-in crews and extensive automation

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Colin, are you talking about Mould Bay in Prince Patrick Island?

There is a joint CANUS military automated weather station there (or there used to be AFAIK) - so that would make the ops you mention military to start with.

Moreover, there are tons of problems with your scenario that don't make sense, the first one being that, contrary to popular belief, just because an island is deserted doesn't mean that anyone can come and claim it (You may not have heard but even the Vatican is finally considering abandoning its doctrine of discovery). The 19th century of Terra Nullius legal theory has not only been discredited, but has been seen to be overridden by the Charter of the United Nations, which describes the internationally recognized borders of each state to be the borders of any nation and declaring any war to change them illegal. I know people think its only worth the paper its written on, but all nations member of the UN (and that includes China and Russia) accept that premise.

Now, with the Hans island dispute over, I defy you to find a single country out there, including Russia and China, who have issued an official map (one issued by the government or on its behalf) that indicates any of the islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago as not belonging to Canada, or as disputed or as unclaimed territory. You won't find one: nobody contests Canada's claim to its Arctic land possession.

BTW, for the curious, there are only three places on earth that are considered unclaimed under the Terra Nullius theory: One in Antarctica, one in North-East Africa and one in the Balkans (yes, I know, this last one is weird).

Yes, in fact one of my co-workers was a weather tech up there for EC when it was manned. As for Chinese/Russian claims, they would make something that sounds legit enough to muddy the waters and likley they would not use a overt military presence, but under the guise of "scientific research". Hell they might even bribe an elder of one of the Indigenous groups to "invite them in to our unceded territory". Canada would be faced with two problems. First is the logistics of getting there with enough force to intimidate them into leaving and another to deal with their legal claims in a timely manner, particularly if China pulls some favours and gets some 3rd world country to raise a motion that Canada's claims are not valid and should be studied. It's all political games to buy time to establish a footprint. Imagine such an event happening under our current government!

 

[GR66]

who are you paying to go up there?

How many people were flocking to Northern Alberta before the oil sands brought development to the area?

The population of Fort McMurray in 1966 was 2,000 people. The Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor) plant opened in 1967. The population was 6,847 by 1971 and reached 31,000 by 1981. The current population of the amalgamated Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is 68,002.*
(*population info from the Fort McMurray Wikipedia page)

Create the infrastructure to support economic development and the private sector will take advantage of any profit making opportunities. There are plenty of indigenous communities in Canada's South that show that they are willing to work with and partner with companies that respect their cultural and economic interests. I'm certain the same will be true in the North.

 

[KevinB]

Colin, are you talking about Mould Bay in Prince Patrick Island?

There is a joint CANUS military automated weather station there (or there used to be AFAIK) - so that would make the ops you mention military to start with.

Moreover, there are tons of problems with your scenario that don't make sense, the first one being that, contrary to popular belief, just because an island is deserted doesn't mean that anyone can come and claim it

Both China and Russia have done just that in the last 20 years.

Furthermore both are quite fine with using little green men as a ‘deniable’ method of infiltration.

(You may not have heard but even the Vatican is finally considering abandoning its doctrine of discovery). The 19th century of Terra Nullius legal theory has not only been discredited, but has been seen to be overridden by the Charter of the United Nations, which describes the internationally recognized borders of each state to be the borders of any nation and declaring any war to change them illegal. I know people think its only worth the paper its written on, but all nations member of the UN (and that includes China and Russia) accept that premise.

I think you are being foolish to think that Russia and China don’t have maps with this option already drawn up.

Now, with the Hans island dispute over, I defy you to find a single country out there, including Russia and China, who have issued an official map (one issued by the government or on its behalf) that indicates any of the islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago as not belonging to Canada, or as disputed or as unclaimed territory. You won't find one: nobody contests Canada's claim to its Arctic land possession.

Yet.
I seem to recall Ukraines borders being acknowledged several different times by Russia since 1992 and that hasn’t stop them from ‘redrawing’ that map.

I’d either of those countries believed that they could get away with it, it would get done.

 

[Kirkhill]

Both China and Russia have done just that in the last 20 years.

Furthermore both are quite fine with using little green men as a ‘deniable’ method of infiltration.

I think you are being foolish to think that Russia and China don’t have maps with this option already drawn up.


Yet.
I seem to recall Ukraines borders being acknowledged several different times by Russia since 1992 and that hasn’t stop them from ‘redrawing’ that map.

I’d either of those countries believed that they could get away with it, it would get done.

You just can't rely on lawyers.

 

[Kirkhill]

WRT lawyers and the Arctic

Given UNDRIP and the existence of the Arctic Council could and adventuresome lawyer make a case for an Indigenous Rights claim for a unified government?

Inuit Circumpolar Council – United Voice of the Arctic

ICC is the body that represents all Inuit from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka on matters of international importance.

www.inuitcircumpolar.com

Adjacent peoples

https://aleut-international.org/

The Aleut share similar languages as the Inuit/Eskimo.

Arctic Athabaskan Council

arcticathabaskancouncil.com

Gwich'in International Council

gwichincouncil.com

This is essentially the Dene.

The Inuit Circumpolar Council claims to represenet about 180,000 people
The Aleut International Association claims to represent about 15,000 people
The Arctic Athabaskan Council claims 45,000 people
The Gwichin Council claims to represent 9,000 people

The other indigenous peoples represented in the Arctic Council are over 100,000 Saami and 250,000 other people indigenous to the Russian Arctic.

In the greater scheme of things those are not very large numbers of people. My sense is that those numbers represent a very small pool of stakeholders with massive land and maritime holdings. The smaller the number of people involved the easier it is to influence group dynamics.

View of China’s engagement in Greenland: mutual economic benefits and political non-interference | Polar Research

polarresearch.net

China’s engagement in Greenland: mutual economic benefits and political non-interference​

Chuan Chen

Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract​

With China becoming more active in Greenland, worries abound that China might have hidden intentions. Despite that, the Greenlandic government is showing an increasing interest in deepening its cooperation with China. This article explores Greenland’s motivation behind its positive attitude towards China and examines whether China will be a threat to Greenland’s independence. For Greenland, China is both a deep-pocketed investor and a huge consumer market, especially in the mining, fishing and tourism industries. Greenland, therefore, views China as an important partner in its economic development, which is necessary for its independence from Denmark. Considering China’s relationship with Denmark, its foreign policy and its affairs vis-à-vis Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan, it is not in China’s interest to interfere with any affairs related to Greenland’s independence.

Chinese ownership of Nunavut’s resources stokes unease

www.nunavutnews.com

Chinese ownership of Nunavut’s resources stokes unease​

NNSL NewsMay 21, 2020 9:30 AM

The Chinese stake in Nunavut’s minerals is about to grow, if approvals are granted, and that’s raising some eyebrows.
China’s government controls many Chinese mining companies, including Shandong Gold Mining, which is in line to buy Toronto-based TMAC Resources for $149 million (U.S.).

Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Luo Zhaohui at the Reception Hosted by Mr. Bob Mcleod, Premier of the Northwest Territories | Government of Northwest Territories

Dear Bob Mcleod, Premier of the Northwest Territories, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good evening! It’s my first visit to the Northwest Territories. I would like to express my thanks for the kind hospitality and sound arrangements by the local governments and Bob, my respected friend. Just as Bob said...

www.gov.nt.ca

Interview: Canada's Yukon seeks Chinese investment in mining sector_Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada

....

Add in China's assertion that it is a Near-Arctic State

China: We are a 'Near-Arctic State' and we want a 'Polar Silk Road'

Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China's Arctic policy poses a challenge, not a threat, to the U.S., according to experts.

www.cnbc.com

And desire for a seat on the Arctic Council

How We Learned to Stop Worrying About China's Arctic Ambitions: Understanding China's Admission to the Arctic Council

Should we truly worry about China's enhanced Arctic ambitions and the related steps taken by the Asian country?

www.thearcticinstitute.org

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL6N0DW54R/

And its explicit linking of its recognition of the Arctic Council to the presence of Russia on the Council

China will not recognize an Arctic Council without Russia, envoy says - ArcticToday

REYKJAVIK — China does not recognize the legitimacy of the limited resumption of the Arctic Council, and the nation will continue collaborating with Russia and other Arctic nations, the Chinese special envoy to the Arctic said on Saturday. The seven Arctic nations other than Russia, now known as...

www.arctictoday.com

And China-Russia co-operation deepening in the Siberian Arctic

China’s steadily expanding investments in Russia since the Ukraine conflict

China’s steadily expanding investments in Russia since the Ukraine conflict

www.orfonline.org

.....

I think we need to stay attuned to the long game possibilities and take nothing for granted, including the peoples north of 60.

 

[Kirkhill]

PS, Our best claim to the Arctic may end up being tied to Oak Island.

The Inuit and the Norse both "invaded-settled" the shores of Baffin Bay around the same time - ca Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson. They both have continuous presence since then on Greenland and Arctic trade with Europe through Nidaros, Bergen and Bristol continued uninterrupted since then.

The Norse presence on Newfoundland at l'Anse aux Meadows is well documented as are Norse factories all the way up to Ellesmere Island and as far west as Cambridge Bay.

It beggars my belief that the Norse got as far as the tip of Newfoundland and decided to stop there and not sail up the St Lawrence or cross to Cape Breton and follow the shore around. Oak Island in Mahone Bay appears to have signs of European influences that predate Columbus and Cabot by multiple centuries. The treasure bit and the fanciful tales tend to obscure the real historical evidence that is being recovered on that site.
I am more interested in the wood, and rocks and coconut fibres found at anachronistic levels than I am in the beeping of metal detectors.

 

[lenaitch]

went looking for helicopter companies operating in the Canadian North and discovered quite a bunch of them, along with a fair number of small airlines and charter companies. It seems to me that bringing some or all of them into a Reserve system, along with the Rangers, and supporting them both with modern, government supplied equipment, to include Chinooks, Hercs and Bandvagons, would go a long way to securing the north and assisting in its continued development.

This assumes any of the pilots would want anything to do with the Reserves. They are largely a nomadic and independent lot and all they want to do is fly. Many of the fixed wing pilots are there only to get enough hours to head back south. Even if you could get every single one that actually lives in the Far North, how many would that be? A few hundred, scattered across the entire Canadian Arctic?

As for the Rangers, correct me if I'm wrong, but other than marksmanship, are they even trained in combat arms/maneuver skills or working in large integrated group? Would they even want to be? I'm not discounting the skills they bring to the CAF, particularly in terms of local knowledge but, push come to shove, are they anything more than folks with rifles who might be the first to see the (Chinese) hoards coming over the hill?

How many people were flocking to Northern Alberta before the oil sands brought development to the area?

The population of Fort McMurray in 1966 was 2,000 people. The Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor) plant opened in 1967. The population was 6,847 by 1971 and reached 31,000 by 1981. The current population of the amalgamated Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is 68,002.*
(*population info from the Fort McMurray Wikipedia page)

Create the infrastructure to support economic development and the private sector will take advantage of any profit making opportunities. There are plenty of indigenous communities in Canada's South that show that they are willing to work with and partner with companies that respect their cultural and economic interests. I'm certain the same will be true in the North.

I am reminded of the 'Mid-Canada Development Corridor' of the 1960s.

https://www.acec.ca/files/Advocacy/Mid-Canada-Development-Corridor%20Acres-Rohmer.pdf

There are indigenous communities willing to open up the north, but there and many that are not, and they each claim traditional territory.

 

[Kirkhill]

Forgot to post this one.---


For completion the third, and largest indigenous group of interest to Canada are the Algonquian Peoples with, as of 2016, 175,825 speakers.

Algonquian

Algonquian describes an ethno-cultural and linguistic group of Indigenous peoples that historically lived in the Eastern Woodlands. This is a region that stre...

www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca

Within the Eastern Woodlands, there are two branches of the Algonquian linguistic family, Central Algonquian (Ojibwe, Odawa, Nipissing and Algonquin) and Eastern Algonquian (Abenaki, Mi’kmaq and Maliseet). (See also Anishinaabemowin: Ojibwe Language.) Languages within each branch show a high degree of mutual intelligibility, with the Central Algonquian forming dialect chains. Algonquian languages are also found in the Canadian Prairies and midwestern United States, including the languages of the Blackfoot Confederacy. (See also Siksikáí’powahsin: Blackfoot Language.) According to the 2016 census, the Algonquian language group is the largest in Canada, with approximately 175,825 speakers. The majority of these speakers reside in Manitoba (21.7%); the rest live in Quebec (21.2%), Ontario (17.2%), Alberta (16.7%) and Saskatchewan (16.0%).

 

[Kirkhill]

This assumes any of the pilots would want anything to do with the Reserves. They are largely a nomadic and independent lot and all they want to do is fly. Many of the fixed wing pilots are there only to get enough hours to head back south. Even if you could get every single one that actually lives in the Far North, how many would that be? A few hundred, scattered across the entire Canadian Arctic?

With only a couple of hundred thousand people north of sixty how many pilots are necessary? A few hundred sounds like a few squadrons worth to me. And so what if they are only there temporarily? The bigger issue, as far as I am concerned is that they can be organized and put on the government payroll when necessary.


I used to regularly fly through Minneapolis St-Paul from Indianapolis to Anchorage. This sight always impressed me at MSP.



Aircraft at the ready with local crews designated.

As for the Rangers, correct me if I'm wrong, but other than marksmanship, are they even trained in combat arms/maneuver skills or working in large integrated group? Would they even want to be? I'm not discounting the skills they bring to the CAF, particularly in terms of local knowledge but, push come to shove, are they anything more than folks with rifles who might be the first to see the (Chinese) hoards coming over the hill?

As I have noted before I don't see the Rangers as a combat force. I see them continuing as they are. If they need a combat arms force then they can call on the highly trained southerners to come up and deal with whatever is coming their way.

I am reminded of the 'Mid-Canada Development Corridor' of the 1960s.

https://www.acec.ca/files/Advocacy/Mid-Canada-Development-Corridor%20Acres-Rohmer.pdf

There are indigenous communities willing to open up the north, but there and many that are not, and they each claim traditional territory.

Some do and some don't. So how is that in any way different to southern land owners? A willing buyer needs to find a willing seller and make a mutually acceptable deal.

 

[FJAG]

As for the Rangers, correct me if I'm wrong, but other than marksmanship, are they even trained in combat arms/maneuver skills or working in large integrated group? Would they even want to be?

I don't think that this is what we want them to be either. We're looking for a local presence with knowledge of the rea and conditions. Combat power, once properly organized, can always be brought in from the south.

 

[YZT580]

This assumes any of the pilots would want anything to do with the Reserves. They are largely a nomadic and independent lot and all they want to do is fly. Many of the fixed wing pilots are there only to get enough hours to head back south. Even if you could get every single one that actually lives in the Far North, how many would that be? A few hundred, scattered across the entire Canadian Arctic?

As for the Rangers, correct me if I'm wrong, but other than marksmanship, are they even trained in combat arms/maneuver skills or working in large integrated group? Would they even want to be? I'm not discounting the skills they bring to the CAF, particularly in terms of local knowledge but, push come to shove, are they anything more than folks with rifles who might be the first to see the (Chinese) hoards coming over the hill?


I am reminded of the 'Mid-Canada Development Corridor' of the 1960s.

https://www.acec.ca/files/Advocacy/Mid-Canada-Development-Corridor%20Acres-Rohmer.pdf

There are indigenous communities willing to open up the north, but there and many that are not, and they each claim traditional territory.

Be a good application for the C295. As a northern air force resource, it has decent range and speed is not critical. Training for crews could be done out of St. Andrews or Brandon since you would be trying to achieve commercial standards for your flight crews rather than military. The A/C is Capable of carrying cargo and/or troops and could easily fit a couple of inflatables or 4 X 4's inside. In some respects better than the DH6 because it has longer legs and the rear door. Then we can buy a decent SAR a/c and contribute towards our 2%. A winner all around

 

[KevinB]

Honestly the CAF needs more C-130 anyway, so getting 30 or so to spread out on Northern Airfields would be a major boost.

Honestly if I was king, I’d make a Crown Corp to have a Northern Airline - that doubles as Air Reserve, with Hooks and Herc’s spread around the North. “Double Double Airlines”

 

[RangerRay]

Honestly the CAF needs more C-130 anyway, so getting 30 or so to spread out on Northern Airfields would be a major boost.

Honestly if I was king, I’d make a Crown Corp to have a Northern Airline - that doubles as Air Reserve, with Hooks and Herc’s spread around the North. “Double Double Airlines”

Didn’t we have that when Scare Canada was a Crown corp back in the day? I thought one of their tasks was to fly the CAF to Europe if Soviet tanks started to pour across the Fulda Gap…