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
18 juin 2024 | Local, Terrestre
The National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces Ombudsman, Gregory A. Lick, released a report today titled Getting Redress Right: An investigation into the inequities Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members face when they have limited or no grievance rights. This is Mr. Lick’s final report before his mandate ends on July 2nd.
11 décembre 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
We are delighted to announce our participation in the Defence and Security Day on the 16th of December, a part of the International Aerospace Week 2020 event organized by Aéro Montréal where we'll present #Innovation in #Defence and our #multidomain #TacticalAirVehicle project, a supplementing and fully interoperable solution with 4+ and 5th Gen Aircraft. Please join us to discover details about aircraft platform which will enable us to redefine how #CostEffective #NextGen #C4ISR, #MPA, #AntiSubmarineWarfare and #CloseAirSupport will look like. https://www.aeromontreal.ca/defence-security-day-program.html
21 décembre 2020 | Local, Naval
The Canadian Surface Combatant project is moored in layers of unnecessary secrecy. Information that has trickled out has been fragmented and contradictory. This suggests anything but smooth sailing. Author of the article: Editorial Board Perhaps, one day, Canada will have 15 splendid new warships, outfitted with cutting-edge technology, that boost our naval security, create thousands of high-quality jobs and offer myriad industrial benefits. But meanwhile, the project to build the Canadian Surface Combatant vessels remains moored in layers of unnecessary secrecy. The information journalists and the Parliamentary Budget Officer have gleaned to-date has been fragmented and contradictory. This suggests anything but smooth sailing. For one thing, there is the issue of cost. The plan to construct the warships has navigated its way through federal governments since the 1990s, but won't start until 2023. It has been delayed time and again; project requirements have changed; and most significantly, the price estimate has soared. Let's start there. The original $14-billion estimate for these ships is now around $70 billion, according to experts. And, as explained by the Citizen's David Pugliese, officials have done everything possible to keep these swelling costs under wraps. While MPs focus on scandals such as the WE Charity debacle (which involved just under $1 billion in grants), there's been little serious parliamentary scrutiny of the spiralling costs of our new-age warships. Next came allegations of bid-rigging (strenuously denied by the government) from some potential contractors, after the procurement rules were changed. In one legal filing, a company noted the parameters of the CSC project has been altered 88 times during the process. Third, while politicians and bureaucrats have argued there will be thousands of high-paying jobs and other industrial benefits, insiders are more dubious. There are no consequences to contractors who don't meet job targets. What is truly scandalous about the shipbuilding affair, however, is the blind insistence on secrecy from all levels of government. Canadian taxpayers will be on the hook for $70 billion (and perhaps more, by the time the first ship sails). Yet journalists from this news organization and others have seen straightforward questions go unanswered; have been threatened with lawsuits; or have had access-to-information queries (that's the law designed to get answers out of government) stalled for years. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has been refused information that was nonetheless shared by government with lobbyists and potential contractors. Project defenders may deride those who raise problems. Yet with so much secrecy, it is impossible for a thinking voter to feel full confidence that the government is competently steering one of its most important files: the nation's defence. Such stonewalling reeks of confusion or incompetence. It's unacceptable in a liberal democracy, and must change. https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/editorial-choppy-waters-for-canadas-warship-program