Minister Blair to hold media availability regarding External Monitor report

On the same subject

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  August 10, 2018 | Local, Land

  Saudis would only hurt themselves by cancelling Light Armoured Vehicle contract

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Saudi Arabia is expecting a full apology from Canada for a tweet that raised questions about human rights issues in the Middle East country. It is unlikely that would be coming anytime soon. So the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Canada continues. In recent days, Riyadh suspended diplomatic ties with Canada, expelled the Canadian ambassador and recalled its own envoy to Ottawa after Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her department criticized the regime on Twitter for its arrest of social activists, demanding their immediate release. Angered by the condemnation, Saudi Arabia has also tried to sting Canada's economy by halting future trade and investment deals and by cancelling lucrative scholarships that would have seen 15,000 of its citizens study in Canada. One media report said Saudi banks and pension funds were ordered to sell off their Canadian assets, although that report remains unconfirmed. Bloomberg News has reported that any move by Saudi Arabia to stop new investments and unload assets in Canada is likely to have limited impact. Saudi assets in Canada are confined mainly to stakes in upscale hotel operators, some small stock holdings in companies like Canadian National Railway and grain facilities, Bloomberg noted. What is interesting is what Saudi Arabia hasn't done. It is still willing to sell oil to Canada and has not put any roadblocks on that money-making venture. The Saudi Press Agency confirmed Thursday that the “diplomatic crisis” wouldn't affect the kingdom's petroleum sales to Canada. But that has also raised questions in Canada about why we are buying oil from Saudi Arabia when we have such large reserves ourselves? The big question is whether the Saudis will withdraw from its $15 billion deal to buy Light Armoured Vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems of London, Ont.? It could happen but such a move would likely only hurt the Saudis. They need the vehicles and to negotiate a new contract with another arms supplier, plus get delivery of that equipment, could take years. Then there is the supply of parts and other support for the existing LAVs that the Saudis previously purchased from General Dynamics. Would shutting down all links to the LAV supply chain make sense for the Saudis? Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Thursday he was still unsure if the General Dynamics contract would be affected. Defence Watch submitted a series of questions to General Dynamics asking whether it would be halting production of LAVs destined for Saudi Arabia and would GD continue to provide spare parts for LAVs already delivered? “General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada declines to comment,” spokesman Doug Wilson-Hodge stated in an email. Full article: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/saudis-would-only-hurt-themselves-by-cancelling-light-armoured-vehicle-contract

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  November 9, 2017 | Local, Aerospace

  Airbus eyes Canadian military deal, further cooperation with Bombardier

  OTTAWA/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Airbus SE (AIR.PA) could cooperate further with Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) beyond a recent venture in the CSeries jets, if its fighter jet is permitted to compete in a Canadian military procurement, and its partners agree, an executive said on Wednesday. Canada said last year it will launch an open competition to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets and a request for proposal for the open competition is expected in 2019. Dirk Hoke, chief executive of Airbus Defense and Space, said the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet could be an option for further collaboration with Bombardier, although he did not specify further. “We will definitely also look at additional potential further cooperation with Bombardier beyond just the CSeries,” Hoke told Reuters on the sidelines of an Ottawa aerospace conference, adding that he was “very optimistic and positive about us entering this competition.” Airbus last month agreed to take a majority stake in Bombardier's CSeries jets program, bolstering the Canadian plane's sales and giving it a possible way out of a damaging trade dispute with Boeing Co (BA.N) and U.S. regulators. The CSeries trade dispute has muddied a potential interim military contract between Boeing and Canada for 18 Super Hornet fighter jets, creating new opportunities for rivals like Airbus, Dassault Aviation SA (AVMD.PA) and Lockheed Martin(LMT.N). Boeing and Canada had initially discussed purchasing the fighters as a stop-gap measure while the country prepared an open five-year competition to replace its aging fleet of 77 Boeing CF-18 fighter jets. Canada has halted talks with Boeing because of the dispute. Hoke said Airbus is not considering jumping into the interim bid for fighter jets and is waiting to see the specifics from the Canadian government on the open competition. “Right now, we have a very positive feeling about it but of course we have to see ... what (are) the specifications that have been finally defined and confirmed.” In 2016, Canada selected Airbus C295W aircraft for its fixed-wing search and rescue program, estimated at C$3 billion ($2.36 billion). Boeing has accused Bombardier of receiving illegal subsidies and dumping the CSeries at “absurdly low” prices in the U.S. market to win a key April 2016 order from Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N). The U.S. Commerce Department has notched up proposed trade duties on U.S. sales of CSeries jets at nearly 300 percent, in a case that will be decided next year at the International Trade Commission.

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  January 12, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

  Achats de F-35 : Des travaux de 500 M$ à prévoir à Bagotville

  Des travaux d'au moins 500 millions de dollars auront lieu à la base militaire de Bagotville, à Saguenay, en vue de l’acquisition par Ottawa de 88 appareils F-35.