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Canadian soldiers got an up-close look at bomb-detecting dolphins during a military training exercise with the Americans off the coast of British Columbia, a newly released document shows.

The U.S. navy brought four bottlenose dolphins and a small support team to Esquimalt, B.C., last year to practise anti-mine tactics as part of Exercise Trident Fury. The large-scale training operation took place in May 2011 and involved the armed forces and coast guards of Canada and the United States.

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A briefing note to the chief of maritime staff described the exercise as a rare opportunity for the Canadian military to gain valuable experience working with the animals — something it currently does not do.

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“Canada has no similar programme for the conduct of mine counter-measures (MCM) and no intent to develop one,” the April 2011 briefing note says.

“However, this is a principal means by which the (U.S. navy) will conduct such operations. It is likely that any MCM operation in our Pacific approaches will involve a combined defence construct and it is thus essential that we practice such procedures.”