Cormorant helicopter upgrades to deliver improved Search and Rescue capabilities and economic opportunities for Canadians

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  February 7, 2019 | Local, C4ISR, Security

  Top-secret committee to study foreign meddling, military use of Canadians' info

  Rachel Aiello, Ottawa News Bureau Online Producer OTTAWA -- Over the next year, the top-secret National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians plans to probe the threat foreign interference poses to Canada, and examine how the military collects and uses information about Canadians. The committee gave notice this week of its planned studies for the year, all of which will happen behind closed doors. The high-level oversight body was created in 2017, and mirrors similar committees set up in the other "Five Eyes" alliance countries. Members include MPs and Senators, who must have the highest level, or “top secret” security clearance. The committee garnered a higher profile in Canada and abroad after then-member Tony Clement stepped down from all parliamentary roles after revealing he sent sexually explicit images and a video of himself to someone he thought was a consenting female, but who was actually a "foreign actor" seeking to financially extort the long-time MP. Months later, two men in West Africa were arrested and accused of being behind the blackmail attempt. This situation prompted questions over potential security ramifications and the vetting of members of the committee. As the committee looks to the year ahead the first study on its agenda will be a look at the threat of foreign interference to Canada's national security and the measures currently in place to counter it. Then the plan is to move on to a probe of the Canada Border Services Agency's national security and intelligence activities related to enforcing immigration and customs laws. Next up will be a review of "issues of diversity and inclusion in Canada's security and intelligence community." Specifically the committee will look at federal security agencies' progress and consult leaders in these offices to recommend ways to improve the culture and representation within the highest levels of the intelligence community. Lastly, the committee is looking to examine the way the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces collect, use, and disseminate information about Canadian citizens as it conducts defence intelligence activities. The committee's findings and recommendations on the military's treatment of citizens' data will be submitted to the prime minister and the minister of national defence before the end of 2019. Of course, all this work could be usurped by other issues that may arise. The committee can undertake special studies at any time, as it did with the prime minister's troubled India trip in 2018. "Our planned reviews for 2019 will continue to build a picture of the various parts of the security and intelligence community and how it works together to protect our security, our freedoms and our institutions," said chair of the committee Liberal MP David McGuinty in a statement. The 11-member committee has continued to meet despite being having vacancies in both of the spots reserved for Conservative MPs. In addition to Clement's vacancy, the spot held by late-Conservative MP Gord Brown has been vacant since May 2018. There has already been a byelection in the riding he held, where a new Conservative MP has been named. The appointments and necessary clearances rest with the Privy Council Office and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "The Committee is continuing to meet, but is looking forward to welcoming two new members from the Official Opposition as soon as possible," executive director of the committee told CTVNews.ca in a statement. Asked about when the new Conservative members will be named, PMO spokesperson Eleanore Catenaro told CTV News.ca that the processing is "almost complete" and they expect the new additions will be named "in short order." Just before Christmas, the committee issued its first annual report to the prime minister, and a declassified version will be tabled in Parliament within 30 sitting days, meaning it could be April before that happens. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/top-secret-committee-to-study-foreign-meddling-military-use-of-canadians-info-1.4285158

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  December 20, 2018 | Local, Land

  Saudis fall $1.8B behind in payments for arms deal with Canada

  NORMAN DE BONO Saudi Arabia has fallen behind in making payments on its $15-billion arms deal with Canada, a contract that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he's looking for ways to halt. The Saudi government was short $1.8 billion in payments to the end of September for light-armoured vehicles assembled at General Dynamics Land Systems Canada (GDLS) in London, according to financial statements from the Canadian Commercial Corp., the federal Crown corporation overseeing the controversial contract. “It is a problem. There is concern, absolutely,” a federal official with knowledge of the agreement told The London Free Press on Wednesday. The arrears on the deal can be traced to a new regime in Saudi Arabia since the agreement was signed in 2014, and there have been delays in payments since the change, said the official, who declined to be identified. “That changed the way everything worked, including payments,” he said of the desert kingdom's new leadership. However, since September the oil-rich country has been making payments and has reduced the amount owed, the official added. The deal, which the Liberals are under pressure to scuttle amid Saudi human rights abuses, including the slaying of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the country's consulate in Turkey, affects thousands of workers in the London area and in a supply chain that extends nationwide. Trudeau, whose government inherited the deal from former prime minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives, said publicly this week for the first time that the Liberals are trying to find a way to stop the sale involving hundreds of light-armoured military vehicles built by the Canadian division of American defence giant General Dynamics. The report by the Crown corporation handling the sale says “trade receivables” are short $1.86 billion as of quarterly statements ending Sept. 30, and that payments have been sparse over the course of about one year. “The significant increase in past due trade receivables, is mostly attributable to the ABP contract,” the report says, referring to the armoured brigades program. “Trade receivables are considered past due when the payor has failed to make the payment by the contractual due date.” The payment issue hasn't been helped by recent public musings by Trudeau, who on Sunday told CTV's Question Period the government is looking for a way to halt the sale. “We are engaged with the export permits to try and see if there is a way of no longer exporting these vehicles to Saudi Arabia,” he said, without being specific. Such a move would devastate GDLS Canada's 1,800-member workforce in London, as well as thousands of jobs with supplier companies, said David Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute think-tank. The Saudis may now feel even less inclined to write a cheque, he added. “It does not give the Saudis a reason to catch up on payments. The government of Canada is responsible for making sure GDLS gets paid for the work it has done,” said Perry. It also makes even less sense that Ottawa should want out of the deal now, he added. Not only would the federal government incur billions of dollars in penalties, according to GDLS Canada, but the Saudis aren't likely to pay the balance owed. “It does not make sense. It would leave the government out of pocket,” said Perry. A review of the quarterly reports suggest payments began slowing about a year ago, he added. “We are right back to dealing with an unreliable client, and that is a problem,” said London-Fanshawe NDP MP Irene Mathyssen. “Work has been done and they have not seen fit to pay their obligation.” She also slammed Trudeau for creating uncertainty around the issue. “It is a problem, it creates stress. The PM cannot make up his mind about what to do.” As for why payments aren't being made, Mathyssen cites reports of financial issues with the Saudi government. Media in May reported soaring debt in Saudi Arabia and economic woes as a result of low oil prices. “There have been reports they overspent, they do not have the cash they once did,” said Mathyssen. “Saudis are used to dictating to the world because they hold such significant oil reserves. They are used to calling the shots.” The Canadian Commercial Corp. (CCC) helps businesses sell overseas and works with foreign governments to buy here. It declined comment on the quarterly reports, saying financial matters between the Crown corporation and business are confidential. “CCC is bound by commercial confidentiality, and, as such, we are not able to disclose the details of our contracts or their management,” the company wrote in an email message. James Bezan, the Conservative critic for national defence, blamed Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland for the slowing cash flow. Her tweets in May criticizing the Saudi human rights record coincide with fewer payments made, he said. “It is concerning. It occurred after irresponsible tweets from Freeland rather than working through proper diplomatic channels,” he said. “The Liberals are prepared to trade away good jobs in London and southern Ontario rather than deal with this at a diplomatic level.” Bezan encouraged the government to find other ways to pressure the Saudis, such as targeting oil imports here, instead of cancelling a contract that would result in massive job losses. “GDLS has been on time, and on budget,” and would be the ones punished. “The government has the responsibility to work through the payments in a timely fashion,” he said. TRUDEAU WEIGHS IN ON SAUDI DEAL Speaking to reporters at a year-end news conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about whether he'll cancel the Saudi arms deal serviced by a major London defence contractor. “Our priority since Day 1 has been thinking about the Canadian jobs, the workers in London, and in the supply chains that have fed into this contract. We know that there are a lot of hard-working families in London who rely on these jobs, and we're going to keep those jobs in mind.” Says the contract, signed by the previous Conservative government, includes a confidentiality clause that prevents him from discussing what's in it, or the nature of the penalties for breaking the contract. Says Canadians are increasingly questioning whether the country should do business with Saudi Arabia. Called it a “complex situation.” Says he's been answering questions about the deal since taking office Says he'll continue to reflect on the “best path forward for Canada and for Canadians.” https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/saudis-fall-1-8b-behind-in-under-fire-arms-deal-with-canada

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  May 22, 2019 | Local, Naval

  Federal government to buy two more Arctic ships from Irving to prevent layoffs

  By Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce Wednesday that the federal government is buying two more Arctic patrol ships on the top of the six it has already ordered from Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding. However, unlike the first six ships, which are being built for the navy at a total cost of $3.5 billion, a government source said the seventh and eighth will be built for the Canadian Coast Guard. The source, who was not authorized to comment publicly, said the move is intended to address the Canadian Coast Guard's desperate need for new ships. Documents obtained by The Canadian Press earlier this year warned that more than a third of the coast guard's 26 large vessels have exceeded their expected lifespans — and many won't survive until replacements arrive. And that advanced age is already affecting the coast guard's ability to do its job, including reduced search-and-rescue coverage, ferry-service disruptions and cancelled resupply runs to Arctic and coastal communities. The second problem is the threat of layoffs, which Irving has long warned will happen unless the government fills a gap between when the last Arctic patrol ship is finished and construction on the navy's new $60-billion warship fleet, the source said. The government sought to address that gap in November when it ordered the sixth Arctic patrol vessel for the navy from Irving and agreed to pay the shipyard to slow production for a total cost of $800 million. Government officials at the time defended the high cost of that move, saying a third-party assessment commissioned by the government, which has never been made public, indicated it would cost even more to allow a gap to persist. "Ultimately what happens is the workforce gets laid off, you rehire people, it's not the same people so you're retraining, and then you have this learning curve," Patrick Finn, the Defence Department's head of procurement, said in January. "From some of the data we've run, doing what we've done, if we don't do it, we're probably going to pay that much money anyways in inefficiencies and get nothing for it. So the analysis shows that this is really a prudent way forward." Even then, federal bureaucrats and Irving both warned more would need to be done as even with those measures, there was still the threat of an 18- to 24-month gap between construction of the two fleets. Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2019/05/21/federal-government-to-buy-two-more-arctic-ships-from-irving-to-prevent-layoffs-2/#.XOVcKshKiUm