Click on the image for SRR boundary map.The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax is responsible for the coordination of all Search and Rescue (SAR) operations associated with aircraft and marine emergencies in eastern Canada. The centre is located in the Maritime Forces Atlantic Headquarters building, in the Canadian Forces Base Halifax Dockyard.
Area of Responsibility
The Halifax Search and Rescue Region (SRR) is bounded on the east at 30 degrees West Longitude, on the west at 70 degrees West Longitude, to the south at approximately 42 degrees North Latitude and to the north at 70 degrees North Latitude. This area comprises all of the Atlantic provinces, the eastern half of the province of Québec, the southern half of Baffin Island and an area of the western North Atlantic extending to 30º west, an area of approximately 4.7 million square kilometres. With over 29,000 kilometers of coastline, eighty percent of the region is covered by water.
Click on the image for SRR boundary map.
The Search and Rescue System in Canada
Authority for the control of Search and Rescue (SAR) is vested in the Minister of National Defence (MND). A Cabinet Directive assigned responsibility for Search and Rescue to the Canadian Air Force in 1947, however, the Canadian Coast Guard is responsible to provide personnel, equipment, and infrastructure to ensure marine SAR services are provided.
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax is the focal point of all aeronautical and maritime SAR activity within its region. The staff collects and distributes essential information concerning a distress situation, arranges the dispatch of rescue assets and personnel to ships or aircraft in distress and coordinates the efforts of all responding resources.
To achieve this, JRCC is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week by an Air Force Officer (SAR pilot or navigator), two Canadian Coast Guard Deck Officers and a Canadian Coast Guard Support Officer. A Canadian Forces Assistant Air Coordinator augments the day shift and is available at other times when required. Extra personnel may be called upon to support operations during periods of heavy activity.
In addition to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre situated in Halifax, there are two Marine Rescue Sub-centres (MRSC) located within Halifax's area of responsibility. MRSC Laurentian is located in Quebec City and MRSC Newfoundland is located in St. John's. The two Marine Rescue Sub-centres (MRSC) are responsible for coordinating marine SAR activities within their respective areas and work with the Aeronautical Coordinator at JRCC Halifax to provide assistance to aeronautical SAR activity within their areas.
History
The Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) was established in January 1947 under the auspices of the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) Maritime Air Command, based on Canada's International Civil Aviation Organization commitment. The program was set up for the coordination of downed aircraft, namely military, and if need be to aid in the Search and Rescue (SAR) of vessels at sea or person lost or in distress.
In that same year, Canada was divided into four areas; Atlantic, Eastern, Western and Pacific. The Atlantic SAR area had coordination centres in Halifax, and Torbay (near St. John's, Newfoundland). Dedicated primary resources at this time included 103 Rescue Unit in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, with a detachment in Torbay. Until the early 1950's the RCAF also operated a rescue unit from Dartmouth Nova Scotia. In the first operating year there were a total of 50 cases handled by the Canadian RCCs, with 31 of those taking place in the Atlantic Region.
In 1951 it was decided that marine SAR would be broadened and would play a more active role, thus the scope of the Atlantic, Eastern and Pacific RCCs was changed to reflect this policy. This was more of a reflection of what was already taking place as opposed to new duties for the RCC. By this time, Marine cases accounted for more incidents than air cases, so this was a natural progression.
In 1954 it was decided that the detachment of 103 RU located in Torbay would be separated from its parent unit in Greenwood and be renamed 107 Rescue Unit.
To this point, RCC Halifax was being run solely by the RCAF, however, by 1960 Marine Coordinators appointed from the Marine Operation Branch of the Department of Transport were attached to the RCCs. Their primary functions was to give advice on marine SAR matters to RCAF officers responsible for SAR operations. There were only three such marine advisors assigned; one each for the Pacific, Eastern and Atlantic regions who would work mostly day shifts and then be on call at other times. This was before the days of pagers and thus on many occasions no marine advisor could be reached causing delays.
In 1960 all government vessels were assigned SAR responsibilities. This was required as the number of marine cases began to rise.
In the fall of 1964 a fishing vessel became disabled off the coast of Nova Scotia. A Canadian Coast Guard cutter was in the area, but as the policy was not to tow vessels it did not respond. The disabled vessel was towed to port by a Russian tug. This was viewed as a disgrace that Canada could not take care of its own fishing fleet and thus the policy was changed. This change required that three full-time Coast Guard Officers be assigned to RCC Halifax to ensure better staffing coverage. Once the Coast Guard's towing policy changed, marine rescue cases became the majority of work done by the RCC.
In 1964 RCC Halifax moved from Maritime Air Command Headquarters on South Street, Halifax to Maritime Command Headquarters in the dockyard.
By 1966 there were a large number of vessels that now carried and used telex machines. Two proposals were put forward; the first said there should be a dedicated telex machine put in the SAR operations room, while the second was to add two additional Coast Guard Officers (CGO) to the RCC staff allowing them to be on watch 24 hours a day. This brought the number of CGOs to five and would allow a marine case to be handled by the Coast Guard under the direction of a CGO.
The Air Force and CGOs were now considered to have equal status, tasking their own resources respectively. By the end of 1966 marine cases represented more than half of all incidents in the Atlantic Search and Rescue Region (SRR).
The 1970's saw changes that provided better support for people in distress. Air resources were now located in Gander Newfoundland, and Summerside Prince Edward Island. Halifax became the sole RCC with the closing of Torbay, although the Coast Guard established Marine Rescue Sub-Centres (MRSC) in St. John's and Québec City, Québec. Aircraft began dropping pumps in aid of vessels taking on water in 1970; in January of that year, the Motor Vessel USEN #1 was the first successful recipient of a pump. The year 1970 saw the number of cases rise to a total of 963.
In 1973 the first trans-Atlantic balloon rescue took place which led the Search Master to comment;
"Unless regulations prohibiting such flights are brought into force, incidents such as this will be repeated. The result will be flight safety hazards and large expenditures for SAR, chiefly in aid of publicity for the balloonist."
In the summer of 1982 satellites were put into orbit to monitor and relay emergency locating transmitter (ELT) information.
RCC Halifax moved in 1983 to its present location in the new Maritime Forces Atlantic Headquarters Building in the dockyard. In 2001, the word "Joint" was added to the unit name (JRCC) to signify to the international SAR community that the centre is responsible for both aeronautical and maritime SAR.
Updated: March 2, 2005