11 juin 2018 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR
Murray Brewster
National Defence fell $2.3 billion short in its plan to re-equip the military in the past year — a failing that one defence analyst says guarantees many important decisions on warplanes, ships and vehicles will be pushed beyond next year's election.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan revealed the figure Wednesday as he launched the department's long-anticipated investment plan at a major defence industry trade show in Ottawa.
The plan is the Liberal government's spending roadmap for its defence policy, released a year ago, which pledged $6.2 billion in new capital spending in the first year.
New figures show $3.9 billion was spent.
Later in the day, the chair of the Liberal government's council of economic advisers underscored the importance of investment in the defence sector and how it will drive innovation in other sectors.
"If we want to grow — and we can in Canada, and we want to grow more significantly — the defence sector is going to play an essential part in doing that," Dominic Barton said.
Leading-edge military technology and the possibilities for its commercialization can transform the broader economy, he added.
However, the investment plan presented by the Liberals on Wednesday leans heavily on refurbishing existing technology and equipment — mostly aircraft — in the coming decade.
The Defence Capabilities Blue Print will see the air force's CF-18 fighter jets, C-140 Aurora surveillance planes, C-144 Challenger executive jets, C-150 Polaris refuellers and transports, CT-114 Tutor trainers and demonstration jets, C-149 search and rescue helicopters and CH-146 Griffons all given life extensions and upgrades.
New aircraft, including drones, won't be introduced until the mid-2020s — or later.
A defence analyst said that's no surprise since many major decisions will be pushed past the 2019 election. That means it will be up to the next government to make the tough decisions on how much to buy and how much to spend.
"Unless we see an extremely busy June with a lot of announcements on milestone projects, a lot of the work is going to be left until later," said Dave Perry, an expert in procurement at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
"They're not moving ahead as quickly as they suggested in the defence policy."
The government could leave even more money on the table this year. Figures compiled by Perry, using the federal government's own budget documents and records, suggest as much as $3 billion could go unspent on military equipment in the current fiscal period.
The former Conservative government was repeatedly criticized for promising the military big things in terms of equipment, but rarely delivering and allowing allocated funds to lapse.
That cash was eventually kicked back to the federal treasury and used for deficit reduction.
Sajjan said defence spending is now guaranteed in the fiscal framework, the government's long-term financial plan.
That means National Defence gets to keep the money and spend it later.
"We always know we might not need the extra funds, but they have to be there just in case," Sajjan said. "Rest assured, the unspent $2.3 billion dollars is protected. Those funds remain available when we need them."
He defended the spending "delta," saying that 30 per cent of it comes because projects came in under budget. Another 42 per cent was because of delays by defence contractors.
Approximately one-third, though, relates to the department's inability to make a decision — or develop specifications on time.
Sajjan took a shot at the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper, which used to regularly publish its defence spending plans, but never had specific funding attached to individual projects.
Conservative defence critic James Bezan said there is a disconnect between the government's defence policy and its spending plans as outlined in federal budget documents.
"Nothing seems to match," said Bezan, who treats the federal budget as the last word in spending.
There was no mention of National Defence in Finance Minister Bill Morneau's latest fiscal, presented in February. Defence officials insist that is because the department's spending is already accounted for in the fiscal framework.
The federal Treasury Board, however, must approve funding on a project-by-project basis — and Bezan said that hasn't been done.
"There's no money to do the things Sajjan is out there talking about," he said. "We are still dealing with the problems of getting procurement done in a timely manner and getting it done on budget."
The head of a defence industry group — Sajjan's audience as he made the announcement — said the government does deserve credit for consulting more about projects ahead of time, but there are obvious shortcomings.
"Any time funding moves to the right, it is a predictability problem for us. We want as as predictable and as stable funding as we can get," said Christyn Cianfarani, the president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries.
"I still think, systemically, there is a problem and if we don't turn it upside down and shake it — the whole procurement system — and do things differently ... many, many things differently, we'll still see sluggishness in the procurement system."
He said the Liberal investment plan is not "aspirational" and states clearly where the cash is coming from.
The Conservative guidebook in the end "did not deliver for the men and women in uniform," Sajjan told the audience of defence contractors.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sajjan-dnd-equipment-funds-1.4683606
30 août 2023 | Local, Aérospatial
On August 28, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) filed charges against Colonel Leif Dahl, the Commander of 8 Wing and Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton, stemming from an incident on August 25, 2023 when Col Dahl was on leave in the local area.
6 septembre 2018 | Local, Naval
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN There is still no word on whether the Royal Canadian Navy will receive a sixth Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship. Irving Shipbuilding is building five AOPS. There is the possibility of building a sixth ship if costs are kept in line and that vessel could be constructed within the project budget. It is unclear if the financial state of the project would allow for a sixth vessel or whether the federal government would have to contribute more funding to allow for the construction of an additional AOPS. Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough has said she is open to the idea of additional AOPS being purchased for Canada but has provided few details. It is expected a decision on the sixth ship will be made in the coming months. “We are hopeful that the Government of Canada will construct a sixth Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship at Halifax Shipyard and understand they will make a decision before the end of 2018.” Irving spokesman Sean Lewis told Defence Watch. As reported in Defence Watch recently the first AOPS will be delivered in the first week of October. There is a possibility one of the government politicians attending that ceremony might make an announcement then of the construction of a sixth ship. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/will-a-sixth-arctic-offshore-patrol-ship-be-built-for-the-royal-canadian-navy
6 mai 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
OTTAWA — The federal government has made another multimillion-dollar investment into the development of the F-35 stealth fighter jet, even as it weighs a new extension to the $19-billion competition to replace Canada's aging CF-18s. Canada made the annual F-35 payment to the U.S. military last week, spending US$70.1 million to remain one of nine partner countries in the fighter-jet project. Each partner is required to cover a portion of the plane's multibillion-dollar development costs to stay at the table. Staying in the program has advantages, as partners get a discount when purchasing the jets and compete for billions of dollars in contracts associated with building and maintaining them. The F-35 is being built by U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin. While the new payment brings Canada's total investment in the F-35 to US$541.3 million since 1997, the government says Canadian companies have also secured US$1.8 billion in work related to the stealth fighter. “This participation provides Canadian industry with contract opportunities that are only available to program participants,” Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said in an email. “Our membership will also allow us preferential pricing and sequencing in the build schedule should the F-35 aircraft be successful in the current future fighter capability program.” Canada actually started to shoulder more of the development costs last year. That is because the Liberal government increased the number of new fighter jets that Canada plans to buy to 88 from 65, even though it has not committed to buying the F-35. News of the payment comes as the federal procurement department confirmed it was considering another extension to the $19-billion competition to replace Canada's CF-18s. The F-35 is one of three planes in running along with Boeing's Super Hornet and the Saab Gripen. The extension was recently requested by one of the three fighter-jet makers. Public Services and Procurement Canada did not confirm which company asked for the extension, but Boeing had previously left the door open to a request because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We can confirm that we are currently evaluating a request from industry to extend the deadline for preliminary proposals,” Public Services and Procurement Canada spokeswoman Michele LaRose said in an emailed statement. “We remain committed to providing members of the Royal Canadian Air Force with the fighter aircraft they need to do their jobs, and ensuring the best possible value for Canadians.” The three companies were originally supposed to submit their bids at the end of March, but that was pushed back to June 30 following a request by Saab. Despite the pandemic, the federal procurement department insisted last month that it still expected companies to meet that deadline. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2020. https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/canada-invests-another-us70m-in-f-35-development-despite-no-commitment-to-buy