Vancouver, British Columbia - Making sure that members of the Canadian Coast Guard have the equipment they need to keep Canada’s waterways navigable and safe is a key priority for the Government of Canada. That includes the Canadian Coast Guard’s small vessels, which play a critical role in our fleet, especially in shallow coastal waters and inland lakes and rivers where larger ships cannot operate.
Today, the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard announced a major investment to fund the completion of the renewal of the Canadian Coast Guard’s small vessels fleet.
The Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister of Public Services and Procurement also took part in the announcement from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, along with Joanne Thompson, Member of Parliament for St. John’s East and Churence Rogers, Member of Parliament for Bonavista—Burin—Trinity. The investment, valued at $2.5 billion, provides for up to 61 small vessels and the ongoing replacement of small craft, barges and work boats with new modern equipment.
This investment will help modernize the Canadian Coast Guard’s small vessel fleet, so that they can keep Canadian waterways and Canadians safe, while creating good-paying jobs across Canada.
This investment will complete the renewal of the Canadian Coast Guard’s small vessels fleet and enable the Canadian Coast Guard to acquire up to:
The procurement of these small vessels will provide opportunities for smaller shipyards and suppliers across Canada, supporting good-paying jobs in our marine industry.
The National Shipbuilding Strategy is creating jobs in Canada’s shipbuilding industry and marine sector, and providing Canadian Coast Guard members with the equipment they need to continue their important work. Under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, 16 small vessels including 14 Search and Rescue lifeboats and two Channel Survey and Sounding Vessels have been delivered to the Canadian Coast Guard.
Contracts under the National Shipbuilding Strategy are estimated to have contributed approximately $21.26 billion ($1.93 billion annually) to Canada’s gross domestic product, and created or maintained over 18,000 jobs annually between 2012 and 2022.
“This is a critical investment that will help modernize the Canadian Coast Guard’s small vessel fleet. We are making sure the Canadian Coast Guard has the equipment it needs to keep Canadians and Canada’s waterways safe, while also creating good-paying jobs across the country.”
The Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
“Through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the government is providing the members of the Canadian Coast Guard with the ships they need to carry out their important work for Canadians. This significant investment also will create more jobs, generate significant economic benefits and help grow the marine industry throughout Canada.”
The Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister of Public Services and Procurement
This additional $2.5 billion investment will enable the Canadian Coast Guard to further the renewal of its small vessel fleet through the acquisition of up to 61 small vessels, ensuring the Canadian Coast Guard has the modern equipment it needs to continue to provide vital services to Canadians.
Small vessels can provide search and rescue services as well as assistance to disabled vessels and support aid to navigation programs.
To date, under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, 16 small vessels have been delivered to Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard. This includes 14 Search and Rescue lifeboats and two Channel Survey and Sounding Vessels.
The Government of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy is a long-term, multi-billion-dollar program focused on renewing the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy fleets to ensure that Canada’s marine agencies have the modern ships they need to fulfill their missions, while revitalizing Canada’s marine industry, creating good middle-class jobs and ensuring economic benefits are realized across the country.
National Shipbuilding Strategy small vessels construction contracts awarded between 2012 and 2022 are estimated to contribute close to $389.4M ($32.4M annually) to the GDP, and create or maintain 293 jobs annually, through the marine industry and its Canadian suppliers, as well as consumer spending by associated employees.
November 29, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
National Defence fast-tracked removal of Aurora aircraft by a decade despite spending hundreds of millions modernizing the planes
March 17, 2020 | Local, C4ISR, Security
It's a 'huge opportunity' for online crime, one expert warns The number of "phishing" attacks meant to steal the online credentials of public servants and corporate sector employees now housebound due to the COVID-19 pandemic is on the rise, one cyber security expert warns. Many attempts are being made against employees who are working from home on virtual private works (VPNs). Cyber experts are still gathering data to establish a direct correlation between the pandemic crisis and the increase in malicious activity. But Rafal Rohozinski, chief executive officer of the SecDev Group of Companies, said this pandemic moment — when large numbers of employees are at home and receiving instructions from their workplaces on how to connect to internal networks — offers online thieves a "huge opportunity." Federal government and corporate sector systems were never designed to support a sudden, mass migration of employees from offices to their homes, he said. "The opening that creates for those who want to wreak havoc through ransomware and malware is really, really significant," said Rohozinski. "And I don't think we're anywhere near prepared for that. "What we're seeing is an increase in phishing being used as a means to get people's credentials." U.S. Health Department attacked The U.S. Health and Human Services Department's website was hit by a cyber attack over several hours on Sunday, an incident which involved overloading its servers with millions of hits. Officials said the system was not penetrated, although media reports in Washington described it as an attempt to undermine the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus pandemic — and may have been the work of a foreign actor. Rohozinski said that while the facts are not all in yet, his "professional guess" is that there's a link between the attack and the COVID-19 crisis. Last week, Canada's top military commander warned that he'd seen recent indications the country's adversaries intend to exploit the uncertainty, confusion and fear generated by the pandemic. Send in the trolls: Canada braces for an online disinformation assault on COVID-19 Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, was not specific about the potential threats — but experts say they could range from hacking to online disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting the federal government's response. Rohozinski said he's concerned about the federal government's technical capacity to support thousands of employees on private networks. "Everybody's moving on to VPNs. Everybody," he said. "This is an enormous pinpoint and an enormous vulnerability." Federal Digital Government Minister Joyce Murray's office was asked for a response Monday, but was unable to provide an immediate comment. Many of the country's leading information technology companies are part of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTE), a nonprofit centre where companies can swap information and insights. A CCTE spokeswoman said the corporate sector is better prepared to face the challenges posed by the mass movement of employees to home networks. Canada to bar entry to travellers who are not citizens, permanent residents or Americans Canadian military bans international travel in response to COVID-19 Still, there is reason for concern. "Given we are moving people to work from home now, companies need to ensure that the work from home environment is as safe as the corporate environment and that people are trained to notice these phishing campaigns, just like they were in the corporate environment," said Mary Jane Couldridge, director of business development at the CCTE. "It's a matter of keeping our community aware of what is impacting Canada daily so we know how to react to it and prevent it from spreading — and not chase rainbows." Most corporations have plans they'll activate now to cover the wholesale movement of employees to networks outside of the office, she added. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/online-hacking-phishing-covid-19-coronavirus-1.5499725
August 7, 2024 | Local, Other Defence
News release August 7, 2024 – Esquimalt, British Columbia – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, announced that a new, 480-room accommodations facility for Canadian Armed Forces members will be built at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt – and that a contract has been awarded to begin design work. The new 31,700 m2 facility for Junior Non-Commission Members will provide incoming Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) personnel with modern and functional infrastructure at CFB Esquimalt as they train and prepare for tomorrow’s security challenges. The new facility will consolidate several functions across the Base into one new, central, and modern high-rise. It will include approximately 480 single occupancy rooms, administrative areas, a dining area and galley capable of serving 700 people, a mess that can support 400 people, postal services, coffee shops, and more. The total design and construction contract cost is estimated at $165 million – and the design portion of the design-build contract has now been awarded to Ellis Don Corporation for $10.1 million. Estimated costs are subject to change as design progresses. We expect this project to create or sustain almost 900 jobs during construction. Aligned with the RCN’s Future Naval Training Strategy, these new, consolidated modern accommodations will support the RCN’s intent to have a bi-coastal training model that better meets the needs of our personnel in Esquimalt, helping to limit travel and time away from their families. As indicated in our renewed vision for defence, Our North, Strong and Free, the Government of Canada is committed to improving quality of life for Canadian Armed Forces members and providing them with the tools they need to meet today’s and future challenges. This is why Our North, Strong and Free invests $10.2 billion over 20 years in current and new infrastructure – and additional funding to establish a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) housing strategy, build new housing, and rehabilitate existing housing so CAF members have safe and affordable places to call home where they and their families are posted. In Esquimalt, Minister Blair reiterated that Budget 2024 makes additional investments for the Department of National Defence to build and renovate housing for CAF personnel on bases across Canada. This will support the construction of up to 1,400 new homes and the renovation of an additional 2,500 existing units for CAF members on base in communities such as Esquimalt, Edmonton, Borden, Trenton, Kingston, Petawawa, Ottawa, Valcartier, and Gagetown. Building more on-base housing will not only help meet the housing needs of military personnel but also help address housing demand in surrounding communities, since fewer military personnel will require rentals in these areas. Minister Blair also highlighted the federal government’s national effort to unlock more public lands for housing. National Defence owns 622 properties across Canada – including in Victoria, totalling 2.2 million hectares. Many of these National Defence properties in cities and communities across Canada are not fully utilized and could be unlocked to build more homes for Canadian Armed Forces members, and civilians, to live in. Minister Blair noted that the Government is reviewing the entire federal lands portfolio to identify more lands for housing. As announced in Budget 2024, the government is exploring the redevelopment of parts of National Defence properties – including CFB Esquimalt – which could be used for both military and civilian uses – including building more homes. We expect this review to identify additional lands that are promising for housing across Canada. As the results of this review come through, we will work with the housing sector to build homes wherever possible. Quotes “Canadian Armed Forces members stand ready to defend Canada every day. Wherever they are posted, service members should not have to worry about finding a suitable home. This new housing facility at CFB Esquimalt will provide state-of-the-art accommodations for 480 Armed Forces members – giving them a modern place to live while training. In British Columbia and right across Canada, we are making transformative investments to improve military housing and support our people. The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence Quick facts Funding for the construction and design of this project comes from Canada’s 2017 defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged. Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with completion projected for the early 2030s. This project will also include the demolition of the current CFB Esquimalt accommodation facility, Nelles Block. We expect demolition will take place once the new facility is constructed in early 2030s. This new Junior NCM Training Facility will also meet the objectives of the Federal Sustainable Development strategy, the Greening Government Strategy, and will seek two Green Globes Certification. This facility will be designed to be Net Zero compliant and resilient to climate change, featuring energy efficient HVAC and lighting, parking spaces for green vehicles, rainwater capture technology, LED lighting, and more. To date, National Defence has reduced greenhouse gas emissions from its buildings and non-military vehicles by 35.9% across Canada, compared with 2005 levels. As part of their tender application, the Design-Builder is required to propose an Indigenous Benefit Plan that provides a commitment for Indigenous Business subcontracting with a target of 5% of the contract amount. Meeting this target is contingent on market conditions and industry capacity. This procurement strategy will continue our commitment to create more opportunities for Indigenous businesses to succeed and grow. CFB Esquimalt is one of Canada’s two Navy bases – and our government is committed to modernizing housing facilities at both of them. An accommodations facility was already constructed at CFB Halifax and completed in 2017. A twelve-story tower, approximately 19,000 m2 total with 300 rooms and a dining/mess hall, were constructed to support personnel at CFB Halifax in 2017. This project cost was approximately $155 million. As indicated in Budget 2024, the Government of Canada is leading a national effort to unlock more homes on public lands. National Defence owns 622 properties across every province and territory, totalling 2.2 million hectares, in addition to providing housing to many members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Many of these National Defence properties in cities and communities across Canada are not fully utilized and could be unlocked to build more homes for Canadian Armed Forces members, and civilians, to live in. As part of its work to build homes on public lands, Budget 2024 announced that the government is exploring the redevelopment of National Defence properties in Halifax, Toronto, and Victoria that could be suitable for both military and civilian uses. Budget 2024 also announced that the Department of National Defence is working with Canada Lands Company and other partners to divest 14 surplus properties that have potential for housing, and are not needed for National Defence operations. These properties include: The Amherst Armoury in Amherst, Nova Scotia; 96 D'Auteuil and 87 St-Louis in Quebec City, Quebec; The National Defence Medical Centre in Ottawa, Ontario; The HMCS Hunter Armoury in Windsor, Ontario; and, The Brigadier Murphy Armoury in Vernon, British Columbia. Budget 2024 also makes additional investments for the Department of National Defence to build and renovate housing for CAF personnel on bases across Canada. This will support the construction of up to 1,400 new homes and the renovation of an additional 2,500 existing units for CAF members on base in communities such as Esquimalt, Edmonton, Borden, Trenton, Kingston, Petawawa, Ottawa, Valcartier, and Gagetown. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2024/08/minister-blair-announces-contract-award-for-new-480-room-military-accommodations-facility-at-cfb-esquimalt-and-highlights-plan-to-build-more-homes-.html