OTTAWA — A long-troubled fleet of coast guard patrol ships that the Canadian government paid hundreds of millions to build will be pulled from service “sooner than expected,” an internal document shows.

It comes as the civilian agency braces for more demands under its new surveillance mandate from Prime Minister Mark Carney, who announced back in June that it would be folded into the National Defence Department.

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Newly released documents obtained by National Post detail the internal deliberations that took place inside the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in the immediate days following the Prime Minister’s Office confirming it would be reassigning responsibility for the Canadian Coast Guard to the defence portfolio.

The change came as Carney announced his governmen

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