The Canadian Senate Committee on National Security and Defence this past week recommendedthat the Canadian Coast Guard arm certain vessels in Arctic waters with deck guns. The overall intention is the provide an added level of assertiveness to Arctic sovereignty and specific claims over the waters of the Northwest Passage. At present, the Canadian Coast Guard is the only Canadian government department that can effectively navigate these waters on a year-round bases. Deck guns would enable warning shots to be fired to suspected foreign and domestic vessels that might be in violation with respect to stated law.
The Canadian Navy does not have any vessels in their fleet that can service the region on an on-going bases. Therefore, a recommendation of this magnitude can be seen to bridge a certain gap till the not so long ago announcement from 2008 by PM Harper to create a fleet of armed Arctic patrol vessels comes to fruition?
Here is a link to the latest Canadian Arctic security development: