HMCS Hunter hosting annual boat exercise on the Detroit River this weekend

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HMCS Hunter will be conducting a small boat exercise this weekend.

Border Sentinel will take place on Saturday and Sunday on the Detroit River, which is an annual small boat exercise.

This is a Canadian Armed Forces exercise that is conducted in partnership with multiple government departments, including Windsor Police, RCMP, OPP, EMS, Leamington Fire, the Windsor Port Authority, and others.

The public will notice these organizations around the tip of Fighting Island all the way to Belle Isle, and around the Ambassador Bridge on Saturday.

On Sunday, the groups will be conducting an emergency scenario in partnership with Windsor Premier Cruises on the Macassa Bay near Belle Isle.

Lieutenant-Commander Marc Levesque, Executive Officer of HMCS Hunter, says this is the 11th year conducting this exercise.

“I’d say one of the best parts about it is just that it is a multi-agency exercise that we at HMCS Hunter put together. So we’ve invited a bunch of partners of ours, all of whom are agencies that serve the public and use the waterway, and the goal of the exercise is really to get us all out there together.”

He says this exercise is about collaboration.

“It helps us elevate our skills, but then also as a collective focuses us, and helps us to be able to achieve a different level of collaboration and interoperability so that if there were a major marine incident, or something like that, we’re all better able to work together and to respond to that together.”

He says on Sunday the organizations will simulate an emergency situation.

“We’re going to be working with the Macassa Bay, which is a river cruise boat, and we’re going to be running a scenario on Sunday in the vicinity of Belle Isle where that vessel is going to get anchored and we’re going to simulate an emergency situation where we have to evacuate a number of people from that vessel.”

Levesque is reminding the public there is no need to be alarmed if you spot these organizations on the waterway this weekend.