Making a difference at home and abroad

Whether they are delivering humanitarian relief or performing search and rescue operations in Canada, or establishing and consolidating peace in the Balkans and other war-torn areas, the members of the Canadian Forces make a remarkable contribution to the security and well-being of Canadians and greatly improve the fate of thousands of people in other countries.

In preparation for the year 2000 date transition, and after major military planning, 11,000 Reservists and 14,000 members of the Regular Force underwent specific training and were placed in a state of alert to assist the federal and provincial authorities in the event that the worst-case scenarios were realized.

Tens of thousands of Canadians remember the work of the Canadian Forces in recent years, when floods struck Manitoba and the Saguenay region, and ice storms battered Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. Neither do they forget July 2000, when Regular Force members and Reservists took part in land and sea searches after a tornado struck Pine Lake, Alberta, or June 2002, when 70 Canadian Forces members helped fight the fires that were ravaging Alberta.

In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Canadian Forces immediately launched Operation SUPPORT to meet the needs of the passengers and crews of aircraft diverted to Canadian airports. Travellers and crews were welcomed in CF facilities in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Manitoba.

For more than 50 years, Canadians have also benefited from one of the world's best search-and rescue (SAR) systems. The Air Force and the Canadian Coast Guard work together to co-ordinate SAR operations in Canada's area of responsibility, an area of some 10 million square kilometres of land, ocean and ice. About 650 members of the Canadian Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard carry out SAR operations with the help of thousands of volunteer members of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association and the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary. In 2001, in more than 8,200 completed SAR missions, about 3,400 human lives were saved.

The Canadian Forces have very special capabilities for use in delivering humanitarian assistance and relief for victims of disasters. They also perform humanitarian flights if required, and take part in mine-removal and mine-awareness operations all over the world.

In 1999, when an earthquake hit Turkey, the Canadian Forces deployed the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), which went to the rescue of thousands of victims, delivering potable water and emergency medical assistance. In 1999-2000, about 650 Canadian Forces members served with the United Nations International Force deployed in East Timor to help restore order in the region. They provided a reinforced infantry company that patrolled more than 1,000 square kilometres of jungle, and air transport that delivered 2,100 passengers and more than 900,000 kilograms of cargo and equipment.

In December 2000, the Canadian Forces deployed 450 soldiers to East Africa to serve for six months with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). Their task was to supervise the implementation of the peace agreement signed by the parties to the conflict.