Canada's exclusion from the AUKUS security pact reveals a failing national defence policy

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  25 avril 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  F-35 Demonstration Team coming to Aero Gatineau-Ottawa air show

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team is now confirmed as coming to the Aero Gatineau-Ottawa 2019 air show. The team will be conducting only two displays outside the U.S. this year. The Aero Gatineau-Ottawa air show runs Sept. 6-8. The RCAF Snowbirds and the CF-18 Hornet Demo team will also be at the show among other attractions. In addition on Aug. 13 the Royal Air Force nine plane precision aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, will be coming to Gatineau-Ottawa for the first performance of their six-week North American tour, Aero Gatineau-Ottawa air show organizers point out. Defence Watch will update with details as they become available. The second location outside the U.S. for the USAF F-35A Demonstration Team will be in Bagotville, Quebec. The team will be at the Spectacle Aerien International de Bagotville which takes place June 22-23. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/f-35-demonstration-team-coming-to-aero-gatineau-ottawa-air-show

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  17 juin 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  Le gouvernement du Canada annonce qu'il soutiendra la création d'un écosystème d'innovation dans le domaine de l'aérospatiale

  Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada Gr'ce à l'écosystème, on pourra mener des recherches, accélérer la commercialisation de produits et créer des emplois hautement spécialisés OTTAWA, le 16 juin 2019 /CNW/ - Les multinationales investissent dans les industries canadiennes de l'aérospatiale et de l'espace de calibre mondial parce qu'elles sont reconnues à l'international, axées sur l'exportation et tournées vers l'innovation. La réussite de ces industries est le fruit du talent d'une main-d'œuvre hautement qualifiée et de l'engagement du gouvernement du Canada à continuer d'accroître leur compétitivité. Reconnaissant l'importance d'une étroite collaboration entre les divers acteurs du domaine pour le développement des technologies de demain, le ministre de l'Innovation, des Sciences et du Développement économique, l'honorable Navdeep Bains, a annoncé un investissement qui pourrait atteindre 49 millions de dollars dans l'Association des industries aérospatiales du Canada, au titre du Fonds stratégique pour l'innovation - Écosystèmes nationaux. L'objectif est de rassembler les meilleurs chercheurs, entreprises et ressources de l'industrie de l'aérospatiale pour créer un écosystème national d'innovation dans ce domaine. Cet écosystème permettra de trouver des solutions aux défis technologiques que doit relever l'industrie, d'accélérer la commercialisation de produits nouveaux et améliorés, et de créer davantage d'emplois hautement spécialisés pour les Canadiens. Cette annonce a été faite lors de la visite du ministre Bains au Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget 2019, où il dirige une délégation de 420 représentants de plus de 140 entreprises canadiennes de l'aérospatiale. Plusieurs entreprises d'importance seront présentes au Salon, dont Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (anglais), Bell(anglais), Bombardier, CAE, Esterline, Héroux-Devtek, IMP Aerospace (anglais), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (anglais), Canada Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Safran Landing Systems et Viking Air (anglais). Afin de promouvoir le Canada comme destination où investir pour les multinationales, le ministre Bains a rencontré des dirigeants d'entreprises nationales et étrangères de l'aérospatiale et de l'espace. Au cours de ces entretiens, il a pu souligner l'engagement pris par le gouvernement à l'égard de ces industries dans le Plan pour l'innovation et les compétences, une stratégie pluriannuelle visant à créer des emplois bien rémunérés pour la classe moyenne. Citations « Le gouvernement travaille en étroite collaboration avec nos entreprises de calibre mondial, y compris les petites et moyennes entreprises, pour renforcer la position enviable du Canada en tant que chef de file mondial de l'innovation dans les domaines de l'aérospatiale et de l'espace. Gr'ce à la collaboration entre les meilleurs chercheurs et les plus novatrices entreprises du pays visant la réalisation de percées dans le domaine de l'aérospatiale, il y aura davantage d'emplois de qualité pour les Canadiens qui veulent travailler au développement des technologies aérospatiales de l'avenir. - Le ministre de l'Innovation, des Sciences et du Développement économique, l'honorable Navdeep Bains Les faits en bref Le financement annoncé aujourd'hui pour l'Association des industries aérospatiales du Canada est issu du volet 5 du Fonds stratégique pour l'innovation. Ce volet vise à soutenir des initiatives d'envergure qui créeront une collaboration à forte incidence, au profit des Canadiens et des écosystèmes d'innovation canadiens. En 2018, l'industrie de l'aérospatiale a contribué pour plus de 25 milliards de dollars au produit intérieur brut, et a offert de l'emploi à environ 213 000 personnes au sein de l'économie canadienne. Le Canada se classe au premier rang mondial de la production de simulateurs de vols civils, de turbopropulseurs et de moteurs d'hélicoptère. Le Canada est le seul pays figurant au palmarès des cinq meilleurs pays pour tous les sous-segments des simulateurs de vols civils, des moteurs et des aéronefs. Les entreprises du secteur canadien de la fabrication aérospatiale utilisent près de 50 % plus de technologies de pointe et deux fois plus de technologies émergentes clés que la moyenne du secteur de la fabrication. Le 6 mars 2019, le gouvernement du Canada a publié Exploration, imagination, innovation : Une nouvelle stratégie spatiale pour le Canada, sa stratégie spatiale nationale qui met l'accent sur la valeur stratégique de l'espace et de l'exploration spatiale pour le Canada. Premier pays à s'engager à participer à la mission du « Gateway » lunaire dirigée par la NASA, le Canada réalise des investissements considérables pour mettre au point la technologie de satellite de communication en orbite basse, dans le but de brancher les Canadiens, peu importe où ils vivent au pays. https://www.newswire.ca/fr/news-releases/le-gouvernement-du-canada-annonce-qu-il-soutiendra-la-creation-d-un-ecosysteme-d-innovation-dans-le-domaine-de-l-aerospatiale-838896972.html

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  5 novembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  A new Defence Procurement Agency – Would it solve anything?

  By Brian Mersereau Defence Watch Guest Writer During the recent federal election, the issue of considering a new Defence Procurement Agency or DPA surfaced again. The Liberals made such an organization part of their defence platform this time around as part of their plan to improve military procurement. While positive outcomes could result from a new organizational structure, simply installing one will not in and of itself create an efficient procurement model. It most certainly will not address in any substantive manner why taxpayers pay far too much to acquire the defence capabilities Canada needs to protect our sovereign interests in a world that has become increasingly unstable in recent years. It appears that, in many cases, Canada pays more per unit of capability to satisfy its defence needs than most of its allies. Unfortunately, though quite logically, this phenomenon has effectively shrunk the size of our armed forces as the number of platforms we can afford to acquire continues to dwindle due to high costs. While this approach can create short-term jobs, they are ultimately unsustainable since there is no international market for our higher-priced solutions. This is not the direction in which Canada should be headed. Before Canada decides to move ahead with a new procurement agency, it should assemble a “smart persons” panel or forum to thoroughly review the existing system and establish the mandate and objectives of whatever type of organization results from said review. Such a review group must be composed of people from the public and private sector with significant experience, not skewed with staff whose procurement experience primarily consists of exposure to the Canadian “way”. During this review, the panel must examine various issues which are currently perceived to be an impediment to the efficiency of Canada's procurement system. Based on my own years of experience on both the buy and sell sides of the procurement equation, the following areas merit some serious thought: Organizational Structure The fewer individuals, departments and oversight committees with their fingers in the “procurement pie”, the quicker and more coherently things will get done. Even at today's interest rates, time really is money for all involved in the process. Adding more time to a schedule for another management review quite often has a negative impact. While I understand governance and oversight committees have their place, their overinvolvement can produce negative outcomes if mandates are not absolutely clear and if individuals on these committees have limited experience with respect to the issue at hand. Risk Canada's ongoing method for defence procurement is that it will not assume any risk on their side of a contract. If Canada insists the private sector must accept all risk, the private sector will so oblige – but at a significant price and to the detriment of schedules and timelines. As contract prices necessarily increase, so do governments costs to manage the contract. In reality, the most efficient procurement solution for Canada would see some elements of risk managed by the buyer, rather than entirely borne by the seller. More consideration needs to go into balanced risk-sharing formulas. Process Canada has an extremely hands-on procurement process for major systems during the competitive phase, as well as during the implementation of the contract. Even in this digital age, Canada hamstrings its own progress with the sheer degree of detail and bureaucracy it requires; unbelievably, freight trucks are still required to deliver proposals. It seems as though, on occasion, the buyer thinks it knows more about designing and engineering the defence systems Canada needs than the actual designers and engineers for whom it is a primary occupation. Requirements of little or no consequence are painstakingly spelled out in the greatest of detail. Such an approach has a tremendous impact on the amount of time consumed by both the buyer and seller, again driving up costs and extending schedules. Less “hand holding” by the customer must be seriously considered. Sole Source In the procurement world, “sole source” is often viewed as a dirty phrase. Frequently, Canada attempts to run competitions in scenarios where the chances of achieving any meaningful savings or benefits related to competition are low at best. This takes years and drives costs higher at no measurable gain for the buyer. The parameters of when and under what circumstances Canada should move directly to a sole source should be thoroughly reviewed. Significant resources are being wasted managing nearly meaningless processes. Skills Canada's internal skill set for managing large, complex defence procurements does not appear to be adequate. As a result, it turns more and more often to the expertise of external third parties in order to keep up with large private sector firms at the negotiation table from a knowledge and experience standpoint. While there will always be a need for some third-party expertise, project managing many external suppliers in the negotiation phase – each of whom have their own agendas – only further complicates the already convoluted procurement process. Canada would be much better off with an enhanced internal core staff. If Canada takes the time to review the appropriateness of some form of DPA model, it must cast the net wider and review other critical aspects of the procurement process – or else any organizational changes will inevitably succumb to the systematic inertia of the overall process. A failure to do so means Canada will continue struggling mightily to stand-up the level of defence and security necessary to secure its citizens in an increasingly turbulent world. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/a-new-defence-procurement-agency-would-it-solve-anything