The Honourable Hunter Tootoo, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Judy M. Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, and Jody Thomas, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, accepted today the last new light-lift helicopter into the Canadian Coast Guard fleet.

After being awarded a contract in May 2014, Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd, based in Mirabel, Quebec, completed the delivery of fifteen light-lift helicopters to the Canadian Coast Guard in less than two years. This impressive milestone was achieved ahead of schedule and on budget.

Twelve of the new helicopters are already in service across the country, including Shearwater, Nova Scotia, carrying out Canadian Coast Guard missions. A second machine will be delivered to Shearwater later this month. The remaining three aircraft are supporting pilot training but they too will be deployed to their operational bases shortly.

The new, state of the art helicopters are faster, can fly farther and carry greater payload than the aircraft they are replacing. In addition, they provide a range of safety enhancements over the existing aircraft.

The Canadian Coast Guard’s helicopter fleet supports several programs that contribute to the safety, national security and sovereignty of Canada. Helicopter missions include everything from flying to remote sites in Canada to supporting construction and maintenance of CCG communication sites, oil pollution response, ice monitoring and support to DFO Science programs.