Troops saw Kashechewan operation as PR exercise
Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Soldiers sent to the northern Ontario community of Kashechewan to provide drinking water last fall were highly skeptical of the operation, which they saw as an expensive public-relations exercise, a newly released report indicates.
"No estimate, detailed planning or needs assessment were completed before the commitment of the personnel and equipment," says the final report into Operation Canopy, which ended Dec. 16.
"Although an excellent PR exercise, the true need of the detachment was never established."
Military brass dispatched a specialized water-production team to the troubled native community on Oct. 28, even though "this was not requested by the community or by the provincial agencies."
Instead, the Liberal government of the day - under intense political pressure - ordered the Canadian Forces to fly in the high-profile detachment soon after the troubles in the community made headlines.
The team was to operate a water-purification unit to help Kashechewan cope with persistent breakdowns in its local water-processing facilities, which had prompted a series of boil-water advisories.
Over the next 48 days, the soldiers produced 140,000 litres of chlorinated drinking water, all of it sealed in litre bags similar to retail milk bags.
Altogether 138 military personnel were involved in the Kashechewan operation - 30 of them reservists - primarily to support the water-purification operation. The Canadian Forces repeatedly turned down requests for transport of civilians and goods, saying that commercial services were available.
Most residents were evacuated at the time, and spring flooding has recently forced yet another evacuation.
Producing water was a challenge, partly because the high-tech equipment did not work well in cold temperatures and water drawn from the river had to be preheated before being treated. There were other technical glitches.
But the biggest headache was finding storage space for 190,000 litre bags of water that were filled only to three-quarters capacity to allow for expansion in case they froze in the northern climate.
The bags could not be stacked for fear of breakage, and had to be meticulously laid out in the church basement, the nursing station, the high school, the women's centre, the youth centre and the arena.
Normally, the military's water-purification specialists - who operate as part of the Disaster Assistance Response Team or DART - produce water for immediate emergency consumption and do not need to stockpile it. Such was the case when Canada sent the DART to deal with emergencies in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Defence Department officially says Op Canopy cost about $350,000 in "incremental" expenses - that is, extraordinary costs but excluding payroll, depreciation and similar costs that it would have had to absorb anyway.
For example, the figure does not include the Hercules aircraft supply flights from Trenton, Ont., which cost $37,000 each, because the air force budgets for a certain amount of flying each year anyway.
But an internal e-mail dated Oct. 27 puts the true cost at more than $860,000, including pay for personnel and Hercules flights - which works out to at least $6 for every litre of water produced.
Documents about Op Canopy, including the final operation report, were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
The military's on-site production of water pales in comparison to the 350,000 litres of bottled water that the federal Indian Affairs Department shipped by air between Oct. 16 and Nov. 1 at its own expense. Local residents much preferred the bottled water because it was easier to transport, store and handle in their homes.
The released material shows the Canadian Forces had hoped to recover costs from Indian Affairs. But Melanie Rushworth, a spokeswoman for the military, said in an interview that in the end the Forces absorbed all costs.
The officer in charge of Op Canopy says the military was there to assure the community that safe water would be available.
"We were providing a measure of confidence to the locals," Maj. Keith Lawrence said in an interview.
There were fears that the bagged water, with a limited shelf life, would never be consumed. But Lawrence, who has returned to Kashechewan several times, says the community has gone through the entire amount.
Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Soldiers sent to the northern Ontario community of Kashechewan to provide drinking water last fall were highly skeptical of the operation, which they saw as an expensive public-relations exercise, a newly released report indicates.
"No estimate, detailed planning or needs assessment were completed before the commitment of the personnel and equipment," says the final report into Operation Canopy, which ended Dec. 16.
"Although an excellent PR exercise, the true need of the detachment was never established."
Military brass dispatched a specialized water-production team to the troubled native community on Oct. 28, even though "this was not requested by the community or by the provincial agencies."
Instead, the Liberal government of the day - under intense political pressure - ordered the Canadian Forces to fly in the high-profile detachment soon after the troubles in the community made headlines.
The team was to operate a water-purification unit to help Kashechewan cope with persistent breakdowns in its local water-processing facilities, which had prompted a series of boil-water advisories.
Over the next 48 days, the soldiers produced 140,000 litres of chlorinated drinking water, all of it sealed in litre bags similar to retail milk bags.
Altogether 138 military personnel were involved in the Kashechewan operation - 30 of them reservists - primarily to support the water-purification operation. The Canadian Forces repeatedly turned down requests for transport of civilians and goods, saying that commercial services were available.
Most residents were evacuated at the time, and spring flooding has recently forced yet another evacuation.
Producing water was a challenge, partly because the high-tech equipment did not work well in cold temperatures and water drawn from the river had to be preheated before being treated. There were other technical glitches.
But the biggest headache was finding storage space for 190,000 litre bags of water that were filled only to three-quarters capacity to allow for expansion in case they froze in the northern climate.
The bags could not be stacked for fear of breakage, and had to be meticulously laid out in the church basement, the nursing station, the high school, the women's centre, the youth centre and the arena.
Normally, the military's water-purification specialists - who operate as part of the Disaster Assistance Response Team or DART - produce water for immediate emergency consumption and do not need to stockpile it. Such was the case when Canada sent the DART to deal with emergencies in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Defence Department officially says Op Canopy cost about $350,000 in "incremental" expenses - that is, extraordinary costs but excluding payroll, depreciation and similar costs that it would have had to absorb anyway.
For example, the figure does not include the Hercules aircraft supply flights from Trenton, Ont., which cost $37,000 each, because the air force budgets for a certain amount of flying each year anyway.
But an internal e-mail dated Oct. 27 puts the true cost at more than $860,000, including pay for personnel and Hercules flights - which works out to at least $6 for every litre of water produced.
Documents about Op Canopy, including the final operation report, were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
The military's on-site production of water pales in comparison to the 350,000 litres of bottled water that the federal Indian Affairs Department shipped by air between Oct. 16 and Nov. 1 at its own expense. Local residents much preferred the bottled water because it was easier to transport, store and handle in their homes.
The released material shows the Canadian Forces had hoped to recover costs from Indian Affairs. But Melanie Rushworth, a spokeswoman for the military, said in an interview that in the end the Forces absorbed all costs.
The officer in charge of Op Canopy says the military was there to assure the community that safe water would be available.
"We were providing a measure of confidence to the locals," Maj. Keith Lawrence said in an interview.
There were fears that the bagged water, with a limited shelf life, would never be consumed. But Lawrence, who has returned to Kashechewan several times, says the community has gone through the entire amount.
