Replace aging Buffalo search planes: NDP
The NDP defence critic says it's time Ottawa replace its aging Buffalo airplanes, the primary aircraft used in search-and-rescue missions in the Yukon and British Columbia.
Dawn Black (New Westminster-Coquitlam) said the CC-115 Buffalo aircraft is outdated, having been in service for 41 years.
"I think Canada and perhaps Brazil or maybe one other country [are] the only countries still flying these planes," the NP told CBC News on Tuesday. "So getting replacement parts for them is very difficult."
The Canadian Forces have up to six Buffalo aircraft stationed at 19 Wing in Comox, B.C., where 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron conducts search-and-rescue operations in a region that includes B.C., the Yukon, and part of the Pacific Ocean.
First brought into service in 1967, the Buffalo has since been replaced by Hercules aircraft at search-and-rescue bases in Greenwood, N.S. and Trenton, Ont., according to 19 Wing's website. It added the Buffalo is still used in Comox because the Hercules is too big to work in the region's mountainous terrain.
Black accused Stephen Harper's Conservative government of endangering lives by not replacing the Buffalo with newer aircraft right away.
Finding replacement parts 'precarious'
She cited defence department documents she obtained through an Access to Information request that say the situation for finding replacement parts for the Buffalo aircraft is "precarious." Some of the planes have already been grounded due to a lack of parts, the documents said.
As well, Black said the Harper Conservatives seem more interested in buying new equipment for the war in Afghanistan, rather than concentrating on home security, as they promised in the 2006 election.
The Conservatives have promised to replace the Buffalo by 2015 — a move Black said may be too late for people needing help.
"Canadians have the right to expect that when they're in need, we'll have the proper kinds of search-and-rescue aircraft and SAR techs available to assist them," she said, referring to air force search and rescue specialists.
Black is urging the government to start the replacement process for the planes now, rather than wait until accidents happen.
"They know that these planes need to be replaced," she said. "It's by starting that process in a competitive and open-bidding process to get the planes that meet the needs of Canadians today and into the future."