Back to news

October 18, 2023 | Local, Security

Minister Blair to mark completion of new Health Services Centre at Canadian Forces Base North Bay

The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, will visit 22 Wing/Canadian Forces Base North Bay to officially mark the completion of the base’s new Health Services Centre, which will better support Canadian Armed Forces members at the base.

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2023/10/minister-blair-to-mark-completion-of-new-health-services-centre-at-canadian-forces-base-north-bay.html

On the same subject

  • Feds going ahead with plan to buy used jets, says Defence minister

    December 18, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

    Feds going ahead with plan to buy used jets, says Defence minister

    By Charlie Pinkerton Nothing will make the government reconsider its controversial plan to buy 25 second-hand, 30-year-old fighter jets as a temporary stopgap for its fleet, says Canada's minister of National Defence. “For us, (cancelling the purchase is) not even in the picture at all, because it would be absolutely irresponsible if we don't try to fill this capability gap,” Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told iPolitics in an interview. “We have to invest.” When they came to power, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals deferred a plan to buy 65 F-35 fighter jets, deciding instead to buy a much smaller number in the interim. They first sought to purchase 18 new Super Hornet jets built by American manufacturer Boeing, before canning that plan about a year ago as trade tensions between the countries boiled over. An announcement followed that Canada was buying 18 used F-18s from Australia to supplement its existing CF-18 fleet, which dates from the early 1980s, and was due for replacement after about 20 years. Over the summer, the government announced it would buy seven jets from Australia for parts. The Liberals had set aside $500 million for this purchase, but the final cost is still unclear. Since the announcement to purchase Australia's old planes, Sajjan has faced harsh criticism from opposition members who call the plan unacceptable, especially after a damning report from the auditor general of Canada less than a month ago. Yet when asked if the purchase could be stopped, Sajjan replied, “Why would you want to stop it?” One answer to that — cherrypicked from the auditor general's report — is that under the current plan, Canada will not meet its commitment to NORAD and NATO, which government officials, including Sajjan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have cited as a major reason for the government's decision to buy the planes. The auditor general also casts doubt on the viability of the government's interim fleet because of a shortage of technicians and pilots capable of maintaining and flying the jets. “National Defence expects to spend almost $3 billion, over and above existing budgets, without a plan to deal with its biggest obstacles to meeting the new operational requirement,” says the report. “We know it's going to take time,” Sajjan said, “but at least we're investing in the problem so we can finally get rid of it.” National Defence doubled down on its current plan following the auditor general's report, saying it's seeking approval of “a number” of upgrades to keep Canada's CF-18 fleet in the air until 2032. It also says it will increase the number of technicians and pilots in the fighter force, even though it identified the shortage as far back as 2016. The first jets to replace the existing CF-18s, and those the government is buying from Australia, will arrive in 2025. A yet-to-be-chosen future fleet of 88 fighter aircraft are supposed to be fully operational by 2031, and last until the year 2060. https://ipolitics.ca/2018/12/17/feds-going-ahead-with-plan-to-buy-used-jets-says-defence-minister/

  • Canada's first Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship expected in October

    August 30, 2018 | Local, Naval

    Canada's first Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship expected in October

    DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The first Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship is expected to be delivered the first week of October, according to Department of National Defence officials. The ship was originally supposed to be delivered this summer. The ship will undergo various tests in the months following delivery. The formal acceptance of the vessel by the Royal Canadian Navy won't take place until early next year. The first vessel, HMCS Harry DeWolf, is expected to be ready for operations starting in the summer of 2019, according to DND officials. Subsequent ships are to be delivered approximately every nine months, according to documents obtained by Postmedia using the Access to Information law. The Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship project will deliver five ships, with an option for a sixth, if affordable. The ships are designated as the Harry DeWolf Class, after Canadian wartime naval hero Vice-Admiral Harry DeWolf. The official RCN ship's class designation will be Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel or AOPV. The AOPV will be capable of armed sea-borne surveillance of Canada's waters, including the Arctic, providing government situational awareness of activities and events in these regions, and cooperating with other government departments to assert and enforce Canadian sovereignty, according to the DND. Construction of the first AOPV began in 2015 with HMCS Harry DeWolf. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/first-arctic-offshore-patrol-ship-expected-in-october

  • Bombardier calls for 'fair competition' as Ottawa eyes sole-source contract for surveillance planes | CBC News

    June 1, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

    Bombardier calls for 'fair competition' as Ottawa eyes sole-source contract for surveillance planes | CBC News

    The Quebec-based jet manufacturer Bombardier is calling on the federal government to launch a "fair competition" to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's surveillance planes.

All news