Government Considering Mothballing All Victoria-class Submarines. Peter MacKay Hints At Buying Nuclear Submarines?

October 27, 2011. By David Pugliese Defence Watch

The federal government is considering mothballing some or all of its four British-made submarines, CBC News reported Thursday night.

But the news story by Greg Weston also quoted Defence Minister Peter MacKay suggesting that nuclear submarines may be the way to go for Canada.

So will the Harper government go out and buy nukes?

How will the public react, particularly about the cost of a fleet of nuclear submarines that could run four, five or six billion dollars depending on?

As well, get ready for more submarine news in the coming weeks.

CTV has a piece in an upcoming segment on W5 which will look at the value of the Victoria-class submarines. It is hosted by Lloyd Robertson. A number of sources have told Defence Watch that they don’t expect the W5 segment to cause the Navy too much grief.

As you know, the Victoria-class submarines have been the subject of much debate.

HMCS Corner Brook, damaged when it hit the ocean floor during a training accident in June on the west coast, is now dockside. It will be repaired and overhauled during a planned maintenance period now underway.

But it is not scheduled to return to sea until 2016, the navy confirmed in an email to the Citizen.

HMCS Chicoutimi, damaged by a fire in 2004 that killed one officer, still remains sidelined. That leaves HMCS Windsor and HMCS Victoria, which are also not available for duty at sea.

“The navy is focused on HMCS Victoria and HMCS Windsor and returning both to sea in early 2012,” stated navy spokesman Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens in an email.