As the Royal Canadian Navy hails a recent test exercise that it says proves it will soon have a fully weaponized submarine, a report obtained by CTV's W5 suggests personnel may be grossly undertrained.

The internal report, marked "Urgent," says training for submariners has been limited to mere days because the four submarines have rarely been at sea.

The report notes that "employment knowledge (is) inadequate among (the) operations team."

Vice Admiral Paul Maddison, head of the Royal Canadian Navy, says concerns over training keep him awake at night.

"Are they getting the right training, are they getting the right opportunities at sea?" Maddison told W5 in October, 2011.

Last month, the Navy conducted drills during which torpedoes were fired from a Canadian submarine, HMCS Victoria, for the first time in 10 years.

The Navy says the drill shows it is close to having a "fully weaponized, operational submarine."

Canada's submarine fleet, which was purchased from the Royal Navy for $750 million, has been plagued by problems:

  • HMCS Corner Brook ran aground off Vancouver Island in 2011 and is undergoing extensive maintenance.
  • HMCS Windsor was dismantled and its parts have been resting in Halifax. Conservative MP Chris Alexander, Parliamentary Secretary to Defence Minister Peter MacKay, said Monday it will complete a refit later this year.
  • HMCS Victoria sustained damage to its electrical system and has been undergoing maintenance
  • HMCS Chicoutimi has not returned to service since a fire broke out on its maiden voyage from Scotland to Canada. The fire killing one sailor and injured other personnel

"I believe we purchased four lemons," said Petty Officer Gerry O'Keefe last year. "The only thing you're going to get out of four lemons is a glass of lemonade."

Last month, a British MP said Canada got a raw deal with the purchase, alleging that the British government knew there were problems with the fleet before the sale.

Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock said while the words "buyer beware" should have bee painted on the subs, he said Canada was "daft" to go ahead with the purchase.

Alexander told CTV's Power Play that replacing the submarine fleet outright would be "much, much more expensive" than continuing with the retrofit that will eventually see all the subs return to the water.

"Within the coming years all four should be able to be in the water to help defend Canada," he said.

The subs also help deter "those who would enter our waters for the wrong reasons, including smugglers, who mean Canada and Canadians harm."

Liberal MP Marc Garneau, a former member of the Navy himself, says the fleet should be saved for the two vital roles they play: defence, and training for other Navy ships that are tasked with rooting out enemy submarines.

NDP MP Matthew Kelway given the mishaps that have plagued the fleet, a full costing of the purchase and subsequent maintenance should be completed.

"If we've got one working we might as well use it," he told Power Play. "I think a full costing needs to be done of what it means to scrap them versus what it means to keep what can work working. But clearly this has been another terrible debacle involving both a Liberal government and Conservative government procurement."

With a report from CTV's Daniele Hamamdjian and files from The Canadian Press