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May 28, 2024 | Local, Land

Minister Blair to visit Singapore to participate in Shangri-La Dialogue

The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, will travel to Singapore from May 31 to June 2, 2024, to further Canada’s defence relationships with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2024/05/minister-blair-to-visit-singapore-to-participate-in-shangri-la-dialogue.html

On the same subject

  • New Canadian warship project off to rocky start as bidders fail to meet some requirements

    April 26, 2018 | Local, Naval

    New Canadian warship project off to rocky start as bidders fail to meet some requirements

    David Pugliese The problems centre around technical issues. Some are minor but in other cases there is a view among defence industry officials that Canada is asking for too much in some areas Canada's quest for a new fleet of warships is off to a rocky start with all bidders failing to meet some of the federal government's requirements. Procurement officials are now trying to regroup on the $60-billion project and figure out ways that bidders might be able to change their proposals to make them acceptable, a number of defence industry executives pointed out. The problems centre around technical issues. Some are minor but in other cases there is a view among defence industry officials that Canada is asking for too much in some areas such as radar, which may be causing problems with meeting requirements. Public Services and Procurement Canada spokeswoman Michèle LaRose said the bids received for the Canadian Surface Combatant project have not been disqualified. Three bids have been received. The federal government and Irving Shipbuilding are still evaluating the proposals, she added. LaRose pointed out that the evaluation is at the second stage in the process. Government officials say that involves what is known as “the cure process” in which bidders will be given details of how their proposals have failed to meet the stated criteria. They will then be given only one opportunity to fix issues with their bids. If they are still considered “non-compliant” after the cure period they “will be eliminated from the competition,” according to the federal government. Technical specifications are now being evaluated by the government. Later this year, the companies will provide the financial information related to their bids. Warship builders submitted their bids on Nov. 30. A winning bid is expected to be selected sometime this year. Irving Shipbuilding will begin construction of the first ship in the early 2020s and delivery of the first vessel is expected in the mid-2020s, according to the federal government. But the project has been plagued with delays and controversy. The final cost of the ships is still unknown. In 2008 the government estimated the total cost of the project to be about $26 billion. But in 2015 navy commander Vice Admiral Mark Norman voiced concern that taxpayers may not have been given all relevant information, and publicly predicted the cost for the ships alone would be around $30 billion. Cost estimates for the project are now between $55 billion and $60 billion. About half of the cost is for systems and equipment that will go on the 15 ships, according to federal documents obtained by Postmedia through the Access to Information law. “Approximately one-half of the CSC build cost is comprised of labour in the (Irving's) Halifax yard and materials,” the documents added. Last year, Jean-Denis Fréchette, the parliamentary budget officer, estimated the CSC program would cost $61.82 billion. He also warned that every year the awarding of the contract is delayed beyond 2018, taxpayers will spend an extra $3 billion because of inflation. The surface combatant will be the backbone of the future Royal Canadian Navy. In November in a surprise twist a French-Italian consortium declined to formally submit a bid and instead offered Canada a fleet of vessels at half the price. Officials with Fincantieri of Italy and Naval Group of France said they don't believe the procurement process as it is currently designed will be successful. Instead they provided the Canadian government with a direct proposal that Irving Shipbuilding on the east coast construct 15 ships based on the consortium's FREMM frigate design, which is proven and is currently in operation with the French and Italian navies. They are guaranteeing the cost of the ships at a fixed price of $30 billion. The deal would have also focused on using Canadian technology on board the ships and included technology transfer to Canadian firms, so they could be involved in future sales of the FREMM vessels on the international market. FREMM ships are operated by the Italian, French, Moroccan and Egyptian navies. Under that plan, Irving could start building the warships almost immediately. The Liberal government, however, rejected the deal. http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/new-canadian-warship-project-off-to-rocky-start-as-bidders-fail-to-meet-some-requirements

  • La ministre de la Défense Anand visite le Royaume-Uni pour approfondir la relation de défense

    June 27, 2023 | Local, Other Defence

    La ministre de la Défense Anand visite le Royaume-Uni pour approfondir la relation de défense

    Le 27 juin 2023 – Ottawa (Ontario) – Défense nationale/Forces armées canadiennes La ministre de la Défense nationale, l’honorable Anita Anand, sera au Royaume-Uni du 27 au 29 juin 2023. Pendant son séjour, la ministre rencontrera le secrétaire d’État à la Défense du Royaume‑Uni, le très honorable Ben Wallace, et d’autres responsables britanniques, de sorte à discuter des efforts visant à soutenir l’Ukraine, à promouvoir l’ordre international fondé sur des règles et à développer la solide relation de défense qu’entretiennent le Canada et le Royaume‑Uni. Le 28 juin, la ministre Anand visitera l’école de Liphook pour rencontrer des élèves qui effectuent des recherches sur l’entraînement canadien réalisé au Royaume-Uni durant la Première Guerre mondiale. Elle tiendra également une réunion bilatérale avec le porte-parole de l’opposition officielle en matière de défense, le très honorable John Healey, et des représentants de BAE Systems. Le 29 juin, la ministre Anand visitera le camp d’entraînement militaire de Lydd pour rencontrer des membres des Forces armées canadiennes en déploiement au Royaume-Uni en vue d’entraîner le personnel des forces armées ukrainiennes dans le cadre de l’opération UNIFIER du Canada. Par après, elle adressera la parole à des membres du Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) – groupe de réflexion sur les questions de défense et de sécurité. Le 29 juin, la ministre tiendra aussi une réunion bilatérale avec le secrétaire d’État Wallace et participera à un point de presse conjoint avec ce dernier. Enfin, la ministre prononcera une allocution lors d’une réception à l’occasion de la fête du Canada, à la Maison du Canada. Le 29 juin 2023 (heure locale) 13 h. La ministre Anand présentera une allocution sur les priorités du Canada en matière de défense à des membres du Royal United Services Institute. Remarques à l’intention des médias : Lieu : Army & Navy Club, 36 Pall Mall, Londres Veuillez vous inscrire en communiquant avec le RUSI, à l’adresse rusip@rusi.org. Renseignements supplémentaires : https://www.rusi.org/events/members-events/ukraine-indo-pacific-exploring-canadas-defence-priorities (en anglais seulement) 15 h 45. La ministre Anand et le secrétaire d’État à la Défense du Royaume‑Uni, Ben Wallace, tiendront un point de presse. Ils prononceront des allocutions et répondront à des questions des représentants des médias y participant en personne. https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-defense-nationale/nouvelles/2023/06/la-ministre-de-la-defense-anand-visite-le-royaume-uni-pour-approfondir-la-relation-de-defense.html

  • Quebec's National Assembly unanimously adopts a motion in support of the Federal government's refresh of the National Shipbuilding Strategy

    December 10, 2018 | Local, Naval

    Quebec's National Assembly unanimously adopts a motion in support of the Federal government's refresh of the National Shipbuilding Strategy

    QUEBEC, Dec. 7 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Quebec's National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion in support of the Federal government's reform or 'refresh' of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. The motion called upon the federal government to endorse the House of Commons and Senate's recommendations to proceed immediately with the construction at Davie Shipbuilding of a second Resolve-Class Naval Support Ship as well as a new fleet of icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard. During 2017, the Federal government conducted a review of the National Shipbuilding Strategy in order to reform the failed strategy and begin to deliver ships for Canada in a timely and cost-effective manner. The Quebec marine industry workers and suppliers are now awaiting the widely anticipated policy refresh. James Davies, President of Davie Shipbuilding commented, "The first Resolve-Class Naval Support Ship, Asterix, has performed flawlessly at full capacity since she was delivered in January 2018. In order to ensure the success of the government's defence policy - Strong, Secure and Engaged - as well as the navy's Leadmark 2050 plan, we need to begin the construction of a second ship without delay. I also wish to highlight the outstanding leadership of the Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier Mr. Donald Martel in this matter of primary importance for the newly elected Quebec government, as well as the role of the Magdalen Islands MNA, Joël Arseneau, in supporting the motion aimed at including Quebec in the Shipbuilding Strategy." Jacques Letourneau, President of the CSN added, "A shipbuilding strategy which leaves out 50% of Canada'sshipbuilding capacity will never be a 'national' one and it certainly will never be a successful one, as time has shown. Seven years, no ships and billions wasted. . Richard Tremblay, Vice-President of the Chantier Davie Canada Suppliers' Association stated, "The Emerson Report (2016) is clear: The Navy and Coast Guard ships are having to be decommissioned faster than they can be replaced. Although the current government inherited this mess, it is now their responsibility to fix it and the 879 Davie Shipbuilding suppliers in Quebec stand ready to help them." NOTE TO EDITORS: About Davie Davie and Federal Fleet Services are part of the Inocea group. While Davie focuses on shipbuilding, Federal Fleet concentrates on obtaining contracts and on vessel rental. Davie is Canada's largest and most experienced shipyard. It is also the highest capacity shipyard in Canada, with 50% of the country's total capacity. Over the last six years, Davie generated more than 2.7 G$ in economic impact in Canada and employed, up until recently, directly and indirectly, over 3 000 Canadians, including 1 400 at the Lévis shipyard, in the province of Quebec. For over a century, Davie has been in charge of the construction and the repair of each major vessel class. Today, Davie is a leader in the icebreaking, LNG and dynamic positioning technology fields, as well as in naval and other crucial shipbuilding domains. Davie is an ISO 9001:2015 (quality assurance) and ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management) certified company. The first replenishment ship built by Davie, the Asterix, was the first naval vessel to join the ranks of Green Marine, the most important environmental certification voluntary program for North America's marine industry. SOURCE Davie Shipbuilding For further information: Frederik Boisvert, Vice President, Public Affairs, Chantier Davie, Cell phone: +1-418-455-2759; François L'Écuyer, CSN Communications Director, Tel: +1-514-949-8973, francois.lecuyer@csn.qc.ca https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/quebecs-national-assembly-unanimously-adopts-a-motion-in-support-of-the-federal-governments-refresh-of-the-national-shipbuilding-strategy-702203571.html

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