Message from the Deputy Minister

Although I joined the department after the end of year 2003-2004, I would like to take this opportunity to convey my appreciations for the incredible contribution MSC and its staff are making to the safety and well being of Canadians. This contribution was also recognized by the federal government by providing new funding for the modernization of the MSC.

This first year of transition towards the revitalization of the MSC was also characterized by a series of severe weather, the primary focus of the MSC for the protection and safety of Canadians. Despite all the work being done on transition, MSC staff pulled together and put their professional skills into serving Canadians where it matters the most: saving lives and reducing property losses. In British Columbia, timely updates of meteorological information provided by our staff, some of whom suffered home losses or damages, helped firefighters evacuate residents and contain the forest fires. Hurricane Juan, the worst hurricane to hit Atlantic Canada in over 100 years with estimated damages near $150 million, was accurately predicted by MSC staff at the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax, allowing residents and emergency measures organizations to take appropriate safety actions. In fact, heavy rain and high winds were predicted nearly three days ahead of time. The media were notified, more than 15 hours before landfall, that Hurricane Juan would be the worst hurricane to hit Nova Scotia in at least 40 years.

Much of the work of the MSC depends on the availability of data gathered by satellites, radars, ocean buoys, weather balloons and fixed weather stations. These earth observations provide the tools to take the pulse of our planet and are critical in understanding the Earth. Through the MSC and other federal departments, Canada is a committed partner in the international Group on Earth Observations (GEO) that is developing a ten-year plan to collect and analyze information on the environment, the atmosphere and our oceans more efficiently on a global scale.

As a department, we are now embarking on a collective reflection on a path forward to even better serve Canadians in all areas related to environment. The MSC, which holds the only federal Department Service Organization (DSO) status, is one of the key players in shaping this new direction. We will continue to build on the MSC's successes which you will discover in reading this report.

Samy Watson

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Meteorological Service of Canada - Environment Canada - Government of Canada

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