December 22, 2020 | Local, Aerospace
Daniel Leblanc · CBC News · Posted: Dec 22, 2020 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 9 hours ago
The federal government is exploring the possibility of replacing its aging fleet of transportation planes as part of a planned bailout of the country's battered airline industry, federal sources said.
While plans to replace the Canadian Armed Forces' five CC-150 Polaris aircraft have been in the works for years, government officials said they have started to look at whether any deal can be found among commercial airlines that are currently looking for financial relief from Ottawa.
The airline industry has been one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and is facing a liquidity crisis, having been forced to cut back on a number of regular routes amid a sharp decline in demand.
Sources, whom CBC News agreed not to identify in order to discuss confidential elements of the procurement process and talks with the airline industry, said Air Canada is seen as a potential supplier for the fleet, which is used to transport cargo, troops and dignitaries such as the prime minister. Still, the sources said discussions are preliminary.
Last week, all potential suppliers were invited to signify their interest in the contract as part of an "invitation to qualify" published on a federal website.
"It is not a new project," a defence official said. "The reason why [the Canadian Armed Forces] are looking at this now is really because of the fact there have been significant changes in the global aircraft market this year. They are looking at options to see what suppliers might have available, because order books are looking different than they were a year ago."
Another official confirmed the government sees a possible window to inject liquidity into the airline industry at the same time as it seeks to replace its fleet of gas guzzling transport aircraft.
"When the government decided a few weeks ago to help the airline sector, there was a situation where it became possible to address two issues at once, namely helping the airline industry at the same time as replacing an aging and polluting fleet," the official said.
Still, aviation expert John Gradek cautioned that a company like Air Canada would much prefer to hold on to its most recent aircraft and sell the older ones to the government.
"Would you want to trade old for old?" he asked.
Gradek added there are thousands of aircraft parked around the world, and manufacturers, facing a decreased demand, might be willing to offer a deal to the Canadian government. He pointed to Air Transat as a potential Canadian-based supplier facing financial difficulties and surplus capacity.
"The airline market is soft; it's a buyer's market," he said.
Air Canada declined to comment on the matter.
The five Polaris aircraft were built by Airbus and sold to Wardair in the late 1980s, before being resold to the Canadian Armed Forces in the early 1990s. They are used to transport cargo and troops on military and humanitarian missions, as well as VIPs, including the prime minister, the governor general and foreign dignitaries.
Two of them are equipped for air-to-air refuelling and can each help four CF-18s to cross the Atlantic.
One of the two Polaris CC-150s that can be used for VIP transport suffered serious damage last year when a motor struck a tow tractor in a hangar and its nose crashed into a wall. The repairs to the aircraft are ongoing.
The aircraft designed for VIP use are far from luxurious and fall well below the standard of most aircraft used to transport G7 leaders, both in terms of comfort and communications equipment.
The invitation for suppliers to qualify to provide strategic tanker transport aircraft was published on Dec. 17. The Canadian Armed Forces are once again looking to acquire five aircraft for this new fleet, which will be expected to offer air-to-air refuelling capabilities for the new fleet of fighter jets.
Gradek said that once the Polaris CC-150 are replaced, they will likely be headed for the scrapyard.
"There is no market for these airplanes," he said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa-second-hand-market-planes-1.5850140
July 17, 2024 | Local, Aerospace, Security
The Department of National Defence is actively considering whether to retire some older ships, planes and other items of equipment that have become too difficult and costly to maintain — including the aircraft belonging to the iconic Snowbird demonstration squadron.
December 7, 2018 | Local, Naval
Lee Berthiaume / The Canadian Press OTTAWA — New court documents show public servants discussing the risk to taxpayers as successive federal governments have turned to sole-source contracts to buy desperately needed equipment for the Canadian Forces and others. The documents were filed on behalf of suspended Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, who is charged with breach of trust in connection with one such contract. They land amid frustrations with Canada's military procurement system — including because of political mismanagement — that have led to the need for quick fixes. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has chosen to sign several sole-source contracts to bolster the coast guard's aging icebreaking fleet and the country's fighter-jet force, buying time to find permanent replacements. Sole-sourcing does make sense in many cases, said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, particularly where there is an emergency or it's clear that only one company can meet the government's needs. "But if you're sole-sourcing to fill a capability gap, that's the result of mismanaging a procurement to the point where you are out of options and have no alternative," Perry said. "That's not really a good reason to be sole-sourcing." The Tories under Stephen Harper once intended to buy a fleet of F-35 fighter jets on an untendered contract, but aborted that plan in 2012 once the full price became known. Then the Trudeau government planned to spend about $6 billion on 18 sole-sourced "interim" Super Hornets from Boeing because it said Canada needed more fighter jets to support its aging CF-18s until replacements could be purchased through a competition. The Super Hornets deal eventually fell apart because of a trade dispute with Boeing. So the government is buying 25 second-hand Australian fighter jets, also without a competition. Canada isn't expected to get new fighter jets until at least 2025. The Liberals also recently bought three second-hand icebreakers from Quebec-based Davie Shipbuilding for the coast guard, whose existing fleet is on average 35 years old — with no immediate plan to replace it on the horizon. Suspended as the military's second-in-command in January 2017, Norman was charged in March 2018 with one count of breach of trust for allegedly leaking cabinet secrets to Davie over a different contract. He has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight the charge. The case against Norman centres on a sole-sourced deal negotiated between Davie and the previous Conservative government in 2015, in which the Quebec shipyard proposed converting a civilian cargo ship into a temporary support vessel for the navy. The $700-million contract with Davie was not finalized before that year's federal election. Although the newly elected Liberals at first wanted to delay it for a closer review, they signed off on the deal a short time later. Before Liberal ministers agreed to buy the converted ship, bureaucrats from the Privy Council Office, the government's top department, wrote a secret briefing note in November 2015 that discussed the problems with not holding a competition. "The risk inherent with a sole-source contract is that much of the leverage in the contract negotiation resides with the company," the bureaucrats wrote, even as they noted that the Conservatives had exempted the deal from the usual oversight for such projects. Despite these concerns, the officials recommended the government approve the deal. Partly because they had assessed that "risk mitigation measures" were in place, but mostly because the navy urgently needed a support ship for faraway operations. The court documents, none of which have been filed as exhibits or tested in court, include RCMP interviews with civil servants that suggest politicians' desire for votes in Quebec also played a role in the decisions about the ship. But the navy's need for the vessel was real. The navy at the time had just retired its 50-year-old support ships and while replacements are being built in Vancouver through the government's national shipbuilding plan, numerous delays and problems mean they won't be ready until the 2020s. The navy had originally expected to get new support ships in 2012. The briefing note said a competition could have been held to find another, perhaps cheaper, solution, but "a competitive process would take longer to deliver a solution — likely 10-14 months for a contract award, and then more time for the service to be ready." RCMP interviews with several senior civil servants raise similar concerns about awarding a contract to Davie without a competition while also alluding to the sense of urgency in getting new support ships. The Defence Department's head of procurement, Patrick Finn, told the Mounties that other companies were clamouring to compete to supply a temporary support ship in late 2014, and that "the information existed to say that this could be done competitively." But Finn noted that Davie had already found a ship that it could convert for the navy, which "at that point had no replenishment ships." Melissa Burke, an analyst with the Privy Council Office who attended various cabinet meetings about Davie's proposal in 2015, told the RCMP that federal procurement officials were unhappy because "they felt the taxpayers were getting a raw deal." https://www.timescolonist.com/sole-sourced-contracts-can-be-raw-deal-top-officials-said-in-navy-ship-case-1.23516431
October 17, 2022 | Local, Naval
Quebec City, Quebec - Enhancing the capacity of our fleet and maintaining our vessels to be reliable and safe are top priorities for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). Through its work, the Canadian Coast Guard's icebreaking program supports safe marine navigation in and around ice-covered waters, and ensures our waterways are safe and accessible for business year-round. Today, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Vincent Massey was delivered to the CCG upon completion of conversion work by Chantier Davie in Lévis, Quebec. The CCGS Vincent Massey has arrived at its homeport in Québec City, Québec to prepare for the upcoming icebreaking season. The vessel joins the fleet of medium icebreakers that serve to keep Eastern Canada's waterways open and safe throughout the winter months. In August 2018, the Canadian Coast Guard purchased three medium commercial icebreakers through Chantier Davie. In preparation for service, all three vessels underwent refit and conversion work at Chantier Davie. These ships were acquired to ensure the continuation of essential icebreaking services in Atlantic Canada, the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, as well as the Arctic, during vessel life extension and repair periods to the existing fleet. This acquisition and maintenance of the ships was completed under the National Shipbuilding Strategy which helps ensure the Canadian Coast Guard continues to deliver essential icebreaking services, keeping shipping routes open and safe while preventing ice jams and flooding. The CCGS Vincent Massey is also equipped to support aids to navigation and provide emergency services such as search and rescue and environmental response. Through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the Government of Canada is revitalizing and re-invigorating Canada's marine industry, while also ensuring employees of the Canadian Coast Guard have effective and modern equipment they need to continue serving Canadians proudly. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-coast-guard/news/2022/10/canadian-coast-guard-ship-vincent-massey-joins-the-icebreaker-fleet.html