October 18, 2018 | Local, Naval
BY TIM BOUSQUET
In recent days, Unifor Marine Workers Federation Local 1, which represents Irving Shipyard workers, has been conducting a “Ships Stay Here” campaign that included getting Halifax council to support its efforts. The union fears that some of the shipbuilding work contracted to Irving will be shifted to Davie Shipyard in Quebec.
Alex Cooke of the Canadian Press contacted the federal government to ask about that fear:
In an emailed statement to The Canadian Press last week, the Department of National Defence spokeswoman Ashley Lemire said the government intends to announce any changes to planned maintenance on Halifax-class frigates in the coming weeks.
“Given the planned work for the Royal Canadian Navy, an option with two maintenance and repair facilities to conduct this work beginning in the 2020 timeframe is being considered,” Lemire said.
“Keeping these frigates operational is a priority for us, and being able to ensure all the maintenance is done when required is essential.”
Lemire added that Irving is the prime contractor for the Canadian Surface Combatant project, which she said will result in an estimated $30 billion in build contracts for Irving Shipbuilding into the 2040s.
However, “a spokesperson for Davie Shipbuilding strongly takes issue with comments that the Quebec company is stealing work from Halifax,” reports Jacob Boon for The Coast:
“It's being portrayed as if Quebec will steal jobs, contracts from Irving,” says Fred Boisvert, vice-president of public affairs for Davie. “Where if you look properly, closely, there's nothing like it happening at all.”
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Boisvert says that's all a bit rich. No one in their right mind could believe there are production gaps at Irving, he says, given the sum total of $65 billion in federal contracts the shipyard has secured.
“Guys, guys, you got $65 billion,” he says. “I mean, please, you won't get a tear from me. You're flush with contracts. You've got 20 years stability in terms of that shipyard.”
Davie has laid off some 1,000 workers itself over the past year due to dwindling federal contracts. “We're bleeding people here,” says Boisvert.
Both companies have been on a lobbying blitz in Ottawa.
Davie has hired consultant Naresh Raghubeer of Elmvale Strategies Inc. to lobby the federal government with regard to “shipbuilding work for National Defence, Canadian Coast Guard, Transport Canada, as well as exports.”
Raghubeer has made 32 reportable lobbying contacts this year, 11 of them in September alone (October reports are not yet published).
The September contacts include conversations with multiple lobbyist targets at once (the reports don't say if they were in-person or conference calls), including with MPs Joel Lightbound, Steve MacKinnon, Remi Masse, Michel Picard, Luc Berthold, Steven Blaney, Gerard Deltell, Bernard Genereux, Jacques Gourde, Richard Marte, Alain Rayes, Jean-Yves Duclos (the minister of Employment and Social Development), Marc Garneau (the minister of Transport Canada), and François-Philippe Champagne (the minister of Infrastructure Canada).
As well, in September Raghubeer talked with Senators Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, Claude Carignan, Jean-Guy Dagenais, Larry Smith, Pierre Dalphond, Denis Dawson, Eric Forest, Rosa Galvez, and Andre Pratte.
Raghubeer's September lobbyist efforts also including conversations with a range of political functionaries, including (twice with) Martin Belanger, the Policy Advisor to the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition; Taras Zalusky, the Policy Advisor to Carla Qualtrough, the minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada; Mathieu Bouchard, a Senior Advisor at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO); Dominic Cormier, a Policy Advisor to the PMO; John Ma, a Policy Advisor to Harjit Singh Sajjan, the minister of DND; (twice with) Shane McCloskey, a Policy Advisor to Marc Garneau, the minister of Transport Canada; Christina Rettig, a Policy Advisor at the PMO; George Young, the Chief of Staff to Jonathan Wilkinson, the minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO); Marc-Andre Leclerc, the Chief of Staff of the Leader of the Official Opposition; Sriram Raman, a Policy Advisor to François-Philippe Champagne, the minister of Infrastructure Canada; Marc Roy, the Chief of Staff to to Marc Garneau, the minister of Transport Canada; Jenny Demers, a Policy Advisor to Jean-Yves Duclos, the minister at ESDC; and Olivier Duchesneau, Chief of Staff to minister Duclos.
For its part, lobbying efforts on behalf of Irving Shipyard are conducted by James Irving, the co-CEO of the shipyard. Irving reported 70 lobbying contacts in 2018, but just six of those were in September. Unlike Raghubeer, who speaks with multiple people at once, Irving tends to speak to one or two people at a time.
James Irving's September contacts were with Taras Zalusky, the director of Policy, Procurement and Parliamentary Affairs Public Services and Procurement Canada; John Ma, a Policy Advisor to Harjit Singh Sajjan at DND; Eric Dagenais, the Assistant Deputy Minister at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; John Knubley, the Deputy Minister at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; Elliott Hughes, the Director of Policy at DND; Christina Rettig, a Policy Advisor at the PMO; and Justin To, the Director of Policy at the PMO.
May 5, 2023 | Local, Other Defence
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau privately told NATO officials that Canada will never meet NATO?s defense-spending target of 2 percent of GDP. While
March 23, 2022 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
The prospects for a significant increase in Canadian defence spending in the coming federal budget looked a little less likely as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set to head to Europe after announcing a stunning political deal with the New Democrats.
June 4, 2020 | Local, Aerospace
Posted on June 4, 2020 by Ken Pole Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 Hornets and U.S. fighters are routinely tasked by North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) to intercept Russian aircraft operating close to Canadian and U.S. airspace. The latest incident occurred in early March when two Tupolev Tu-142 reconnaissance aircraft were met over the Beaufort Sea by RCAF Boeing CF-188s from Cold Lake, Alta., and USAF F-22 Raptors out of Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. They were supported by two larger Boeings, a USAF KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft. Having waved their metaphorical flags, all returned to their respective bases without incident. More recently, two CF-188s from 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron at RCAF 3 Wing in Bagotville, Que., and Lockheed Martin CP-140 Aurora maritime reconnaissance aircraft out of 14 Wing Greenwood, N.S., were involved in a more unusual intercept exercise off the East Coast. Also participating were the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) frigate Ville de Quebec and the supply ship Asterix, both homeported in Halifax. The unprecedented May 28 to 31 exercise was co-ordinated by U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and also involved the U.S. Strategic, Space and Transportation Commands. Centred around the U.S. Navy Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike group and the RCN ships, the exercise was designed to test U.S. homeland defence against a supersonic Rockwell B-1B Lancer heavy bomber representing an enemy intruder. U.S. aircraft included KC-135s for refuelling not only the Canadian fighters but also Boeing F-15 Eagles flown by the U.S. Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing out of Barnes ANG Base in Westfield, Mass., and Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets from Carrier Air Wing 1 at Oceana, Va. The CP-140s, from 404, 405 and 415 Squadrons at Greenwood, conducted five overflights during the exercise as well as participating in an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) element. The Ville de Quebec also participated in the ASW element as well as the Lancer intercept before returning to Halifax. The Asterix conducted several “replenishments at sea” exercises with other ships. “This was an excellent advanced readiness opportunity for Canadian and American maritime forces,” RAdm Craig Baines, the RCN's Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic, said in a statement. “The scenarios utilized during these events enable our mutual ability to operate in a multi-threat environment, in which co-ordination and integration are absolutely critical for our success in responding to any crisis in our waters or internationally.” Operational details were scarce, with Canadian and U.S. officers saying only that the exercise took place in an area up to 160 kilometres offshore. However, Terrence O'Shaughnessy, the four-star USAF General who heads both USNORTHCOM and NORAD, said in a statement that the “complex high-end operations . . . allowed us to demonstrate and exercise critical homeland defense capabilities.” https://www.skiesmag.com/news/rcaf-aircraft-participate-east-coast-intercept-exercise