|
One of the ways in which the Coast Guard is actively engaged with its domestic security partners is through the country’s three Marine Security Operations Centres (MSOCs), which collect and analyze vast amounts of information from the marine environment in the interest of enhancing maritime security. The Department of National Defence (DND) leads the MSOCs located on the east and west coasts (Halifax, N.S. and Esquimalt, B.C.), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) leads the MSOC in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway region (St. Catharines, Ont.). These centres are a unique example of multiagency integration and collaboration, bringing together Coast Guard staff with those of the DND, the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency, Transport Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. While retaining their own mandates and lines of authority, these agencies work closely together within the MSOCs, sharing their expertise and, wherever possible, the content of their information systems to help identify and assess security threats.
|