October 30, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
Canada's military police watchdog plans to probe how investigators handled the case of an Edmonton-based soldier who was found guilty earlier this year of trying to kill herself and her three children by setting her house on fire in 2015.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/military-police-complaints-arson-attempted-murder-1.7012967
October 13, 2024 | Local, Land
The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, will travel to Mendoza, Argentina for the 16th biennial Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (CDMA).
April 26, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Though the federal government expects to award a contract for a new fleet of fighter jets in 2022, it admits that schedule is aggressive and could yet face further delays. A request for bids to provide 88 new jets to the Royal Canadian Air Force will be released next month, according to a new update on major Department of National Defence projects released Wednesday, with the proposals to be evaluated by 2021 and a contract to be awarded a year later. But in the update DND also admits that timeline is tenuous. “The approved schedule is considered very aggressive,” it said. “The project team is managing a number of risks which have the potential to impact schedule.” The document doesn't outline the specific risks but DND officials have acknowledged that government negotiations with private contractors on the industrial benefits that are to be linked to the project could cause delays. The Liberals have committed to purchasing the new jets in a program expected to cost up to $19 billion. The competition was launched on Dec. 12, 2017, and Canada expects to examine four different fighter jets as candidates for the RCAF's new fleet. The project team is managing a number of risks which have the potential to impact schedule The first of the jets is expected to be delivered in the mid-2020s, with the full capability available in the early 2030s, according to the DND document. The document also outlines the plan to purchase used Australian F-18s in the interim, which the RACF will use to boost the capability of its current fleet of CF-18s until the new generation aircraft are in service. The first of the Australian jets has already been delivered, with final delivery set for the end of 2021, according to the update. However, the parliamentary budget officer has found this interim solution could cost more than $1 billion, and the auditor general's office has pointed out that the air force is lacking pilots and maintenance crews for the planes it already operates. Wednesday's DND update points out success stories as well as challenges with some of DND's multi-billion dollar projects. Some programs, such as the purchase of Chinook helicopters and tactical armoured patrol vehicles, are completed or are nearing completion with few problems. A new $2-billion program to buy heavy trucks is among those expected to be proceed without issues. Canada also expects to award a contact next year for a mid-life upgrade of the fleet of Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters, and the conversion of former U.S. presidential helicopters so they can join the flight line for rescue operations. But the report warns there could be problems with other upcoming projects such as the purchase of a fleet of drones. It noted that there might not be enough procurement staff with the required expertise to move that program forward on schedule. The department hopes to deal with the problem by hiring contractors. A draft invitation to qualify for that project was released April 5 and a contact is expected to be awarded in 2022, the document said. The first of a fleet of new fixed-wing search-and-rescue aircraft, meanwhile, are to be delivered in December. The first plane will be sent to 19 Wing Comox, B.C. in the spring of 2020. The 16 new planes will be phased in between 2020 and 2022. But DND acknowledged it is keeping an eye on the potential that schedule could be affected because of the “complexities associated with transitioning to the new fleet while maintaining the current search and rescue posture.” In addition, DND is keeping watch on problems with its new upgraded light armoured vehicles. Though the vehicles have been delivered on time, some technical issues will be fixed through a retrofit program. There have also been problems with software design and qualification of components in another new fleet of armoured vehicles that will be used for battlefield surveillance, the first of which is to be delivered next year. The first new supply ship for the Royal Canadian Navy, being built in Vancouver, is expected in 2023 but won't be ready for operations until a year later. The delivery of the second supply ship “is currently under review,” the update added. In the meantime, the navy has access to MV Asterix, the supply ship at the heart of the court case involving Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. That ship, currently being leased to the navy by Quebec firm Davie Shipbuilding, was delivered on time and on budget and is considered a procurement success story. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/canada/government-expects-to-award-contract-for-new-fighter-jet-fleet-in-2022-but-admits-it-could-face-delays/wcm/a34c8b83-3838-4ff9-87ac-1741fd434059
September 6, 2018 | Local, Security
By Terry Pedwell A mandate letter for Canada's new corrections commissioner calls for more engagement with community groups to help prevent re-offending — something prisoner advocacy organizations say the prison system has not been very good at doing. The letter, issued to Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) commissioner Anne Kelly in mid-August but only made public Wednesday, also calls on her to reduce the use of segregation, especially for inmates suffering from mental illness. Two major lawsuits launched since 2015 have challenged how the prison system uses segregation to keep inmates in line, or to prevent them from harming themselves or others. The letter says prisons should explore new, supervised use of computers so inmates are more prepared to enter the workforce once they are released. And it calls on the commissioner to do more to address the needs of Indigenous offenders, including increasing the use of community-run healing lodges. The government said the letter marks the first time a CSC commissioner has received a public mandate. The letter to Kelly from Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the prison system can not take a one-size-fits-all approach to incarceration. “Different groups of offenders — including black Canadians, women, young adults, LGBTQ2 people and aging offenders — have different needs and experiences, which require tailored approaches,” Goodale said in a statement to Kelly, dated Aug. 17. “In particular, more work needs to be done to address the needs of Indigenous Peoples, who are overrepresented in federal custody.” Jennifer Metcalfe, executive director of Vancouver-based Prisoners' Legal Services, applauded the mandate, but said she is frustrated the government has appealed recent court decisions denouncing the use of segregation. “If the government was really committed to making concrete changes that would have a positive impact on peoples' health and mental health, they shouldn't be fighting these issues in the courts,” she said. Her legal services clinic has filed a human rights complaint on behalf of prisoners with mental disabilities that calls for significant changes to Canada's prison system. “We would like to be at the table to help (CSC) come up with alternatives to solitary confinement that would better treat people with mental disabilities,” said Metcalfe. She said more money needs to be invested in mental health care services for offenders, rather than warehousing people where they can develop bad behaviours including self injury. Goodale said the CSC commissioner has four critical responsibilities: ensuring offenders can live law-abiding lives when they are released, providing a safe workplace for prison employees, showing victims of crime compassion and keeping them informed, and ensuring offenders are treated safely and humanely. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of Kelly as CSC commissioner in late July. The Canadian Press https://ipolitics.ca/2018/09/05/correction-services-head-marching-orders-less-segregation-more-engagement/