Plus a very, very different mindset in the CCG. For the Navaids crews, think construction workers at sea. For the SAR types, think firefighters. Fisheries research, think fisherman.
Personally I think all the major CCG vessel should carry a couple of .50cals The purpose of that is to support boarding parties provided by other agencies. Training the crews would be easy and could be done during regular crewing cycles. Getting the Captains to take on the responsibility to actually use them when required would be the hard part.
Could you convert a Service Battalion with Wreckers, MRTs and POL Tankers into an Infantry Battalion? Amd why would you?
The real problem in Canada, as always, is money. There is a need for the "highways maintenance" guys of the CCG. There is a need for Blue Water patrols (and that is what the Canadian Patrol Frigates are about - patrolling the high seas). But there is also a need for inshore patrols just as there is a need for highway patrols and that is the bit that everyone seems to choke on.
Highway Patrols are about presence. One constable in an expensive car, well connected to the world at large and the intelligence stream but lightly armed. The defining characteristic is that there are lots of them - at least there are enough of them that people are encouraged to obey the laws because they know there is a fair chance of encountering them.
That is the missing bit in terms of managing our inshore waters, IMO.
CCG
4x Offshore Patrol Vessels
9x Midshore Patrol Vessels
58x SAR Lifeboats (that could also be used for local patrols)
RCMP
3x Patrol Vessels (BC)?
RCN
8x Orca Patrol/Training Vessels
12x Kingston MCDV (co-opted for international operations)
....
This recent article calling for more inter-departmental work in the Maritime Arctic with the RCMP
"Arctic sovereignty is well defined on the land and inland waterways," says Sergeant Jean-Luc Bédard, Arctic manager with Federal Policing Criminal Operations (FPCO)'s Border Integrity Program. "But, there is a gap in the maritime environment. What better way to fill it than to partner and engage with other government departments?"
....
What is wrong with building on this structure?
Mounties on Coast Guard Patrol Vessels in the Great Lakes and St Laurence.
Why not turn all 8 of the AOPS, together with the CCG Midshore and Offshore vessels, over to the Maritime Security Enforcement Team? And do the SAR Lifeboats need to be tied to the dock or can they function effectively while patrolling?