DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
Taxpayers will have to spend $1.1 billion extra on new navy supply ships that are going to be built starting this summer, the Liberal government now acknowledges.
Previously the cost of building the two ships at Seaspan shipyards in Vancouver, BC had been pegged at $2.3 billion.
But the government ordered a review of that cost figure and in an email to Postmedia, Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough's office now confirms the cost for the Joint Support Ships, or JSS, is set at $3.4 billion.
Pat Finn, the head of procurement at the Department of National Defence, said the new price tag came as the government decided to do an additional analysis of the project and include other items it had not previously included.
In some cases equipment for the ship has been purchased so there are better costs available on those items, Finn said in an interview Monday. Also taken into account was new infrastructure and the delays with the program, which, in turn, drove up the price as the cost of material increased over the years.
“The build period has changed quite dramatically,” Finn acknowledged.
At one point, the first ship was supposed to arrive in 2012. That has been changed a number of times with the government later hoping for a 2018 delivery and then a 2019 arrival for the first vessel.
The Department of National Defence is now hoping for the delivery of the first ship in 2022 or 2023. Construction will begin at Seaspan this summer of some initial portions of the vessels, Finn said.
The government hopes starting construction on the supply ships in the summer will head off any potential layoffs of skilled employees at Seaspan.
Finn said of the $3.4 billion figure, the actual cost of building the two ships accounts for a little more than 60 per cent.
Finn said the new costing model for the JSS is more akin to the one used by the parliamentary budget office. That office had an even higher estimate for JSS when it concluded in 2013 that the final tally for taxpayers would be $4.13 billion.
The Joint Support Ships are critical for the navy as they provide fuel and supplies for warships at sea.
But the Royal Canadian Navy retired its last two aging supply ships years ago. One was damaged beyond repair in a fire. The other was removed from service because of excessive corrosion. The Canadian military had been relying on the Spanish and Chilean navies to provide supply vessels for short periods of time to help fuel up Canadian warships at sea.
Because of the delays in the JSS program, the previous Conservative government entered into agreement with Davie Shipyards in Quebec to lease a commercial vessel that had been converted into a refueling and supply ship.
That ship, the MV Asterix, is at the heart of federal government's case against Vice Admiral Mark Norman. Norman has been accused by the RCMP of warning Davie in the fall of 2015 that Liberal cabinet ministers wanted to derail the Asterix project.
Word of the Liberal plan leaked out to the news media and the resulting embarrassment forced the Trudeau government to back down on its plans and the conversion of Asterix proceeded.
Norman was put under investigation and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau predicted on two occasions the officer would ultimately end up in court.
In March, the RCMP charged Norman with a single count of breach of trust. A date for the trial has not yet been set.
Norman denies the charge and has said he looks forward to clearing his name.
Asterix is considered a rare achievement in Canadian military procurement in that it was delivered on time and on budget. The supply ship is now at sea with Royal Canadian Navy and is headed to a major military exercise to begin later this month.
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DAVID DONALD Training systems integrator and operational support specialist CAE is a truly global player, with more than 10,000 employees active in 40 countries. However, its traditional home market in Canada remains a core business, employing 4,500 personnel at 16 sites, and with more than 425 Canadian companies numbered in the supply chain. Forthcoming developments in CAE's Canadian business include the opening of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) helicopter simulator in Ottawa, planned for later this year. The CAE 3000 Series simulator features roll-on, roll-off cockpits for the Bell 429 and 412EPI helicopters, which share a single simulator dome. CAE claims the system offers the highest fidelity yet of any of its simulators. A potential third cockpit could be added once the CCG has selected a helicopter to equip its new icebreaker vessel. Recently, the company's training centres at Trenton (CC-130J) and Petawawa (CH-147F) have been used to provide pre-deployment and mission rehearsal training for Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) crews destined for service in Mali. A high-fidelity virtual database of Mali has been integrated into the CH-147F and CC-130J simulators to provide realistic training, while CH-146 Griffon crews have also received pre-deployment training with a generic Mali database added into the simulator. CAE is also part of Team Cormorant, which is delivering a mid-life update for the CH-149 search and rescue helicopter. The company will establish a training centre at Comox alongside that for the Airbus C295 Fixed-Wing SAR aircraft. The SkyAlyne joint venture with KF Aerospace continues to deliver pilot training for the RCAF through the existing NATO Flying Training Centre (CAE) and Contracted Flying Training and Support (KF) programmes, while positioning to bid an integrated future aircrew training system for the 2020s. Other future opportunities include the RPAS programme, for which CAE is bidding as part of Team SkyGuardian Canada with General Atomics, and the Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP). CAE remains non-exclusive with regard to FFCP, and is in discussions with all four bidders regarding both training and operational support activities. Continuing its multi-faceted operational support and system integration efforts, CAE has supplied an integrated information environment (IIE) for the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone to assist and streamline maintenance. The IIE was thoroughly tested recently during the Cyclone's first six-month at-sea deployment. CAE is also contracted for design support associated with the CSC combat ship. https://www.janes.com/article/88921/committed-to-canada-cs19d2
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By Josh Wingrove Canada is looking for a way out of a $13 billion deal to export armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia -- a move the company warns could leave the government liable for billions. In a television interview Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government was looking for a way to halt the sale of armored vehicles manufactured by a unit of U.S.-based General Dynamics Corp. “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,” Trudeau told CTV, without elaborating. Full article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-17/trudeau-says-canada-wants-out-of-saudi-vehicle-export-deal