28 novembre 2018 | Local, Naval
Murray Brewster · CBC News
The federal government's plan to award a group of companies led by Lockheed Martin Canada the contract to design and support the construction of the navy's new frigates was dealt another setback late Tuesday by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, CBC News has learned.
The agency said it intends to investigate a complaint by one of the other bidders, Alion Science and Technology Corp., and its subsidiary Alion Canada.The tribunal ordered the Liberal government to suspend negotiations with Lockheed Martin, which was selected last month by Public Services and Procurement Canada as the preferred bidder on the $60 billion program.
"You are hereby ordered to postpone the award of any contract in connection with the above-mentioned procurement until the Canadian International Trade Tribunal determines the validity of the complaint," said a copy of the letter that was obtained late Tuesday by CBC News.
Alion asked the CITT last week to investigate the procurement deal, saying the preferred warship design will need substantial changes and that it doesn't meet the navy's requirements as spelled out in the government tender.
Last week, the company asked the Federal Court in a separate filing for a judicial review of the long-awaited decision.Three companies were in the running to design the next generation of warships to replace the navy's aging Halifax-class frigates. Navantia, a Spanish-based company, was the other bidder in the competition.
Alion proposed its De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command (LCF) frigate, a Dutch-designed warship, for the Canadian competition. The ship is already in service in other countries.
No one from the trade tribunal, nor the federal government was immediately available for comment late Tuesday.
Experts had warned the trade challenge and the court case might delay the program, which is already behind schedule.
The design competition stretched for almost two years as public services officials and executives at the federal government's go-to shipyard for combat vessel construction, Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax, worked with bidders to ensure a fair competition and to avoid post-decision court fights.
Public Services and Procurement Canada declined comment when the court challenge was launched last week. But a senior federal official, speaking on background at the time, said the federal government has up to 20 days to respond in Federal Court.
The official — who was not authorized to speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the file — said there is flexibility built into the timeline and the government is optimistic it can meet its goal of an early 2019 contract signing.
The substance of the Alion complaint is that the Lockheed Martin Canada-led bid should have been disqualified from the outset because it allegedly doesn't meet the navy's criteria in terms of speed and crew space.
The Liberal government said it wanted to go with a proven warship design, rather than starting from scratch, because it would be faster and cheaper.
6 septembre 2017 | Local, Aérospatial
For the six months ended June 30, 2017, Omni-Lite Industries Canada Inc. is pleased to report revenue of $3,479,191 US. https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/09/06/1108409/0/en/Omni-Lite-Industries-Reports-Strong-Six-Month-Financial-Results-and-Significant-New-Orders.html
20 août 2021 | Local, Aérospatial
General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada a annoncé aujourd’hui l’implantation d’un centre d’excellence à Sherbrooke pour les technologies de systèmes d’aéronefs télépilotés (SATP) gr'ce à la contribution de 9 millions de dollars du gouvernement du Québec, par l'entremise d'Investissement Québec, pour la première phase du projet.
30 décembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Canada's RADARSAT Constellation Mission is now operational and federal government departments will start receiving data from the surveillance and earth observation satellites. The RADARSAT Constellation Mission, or RCM, was launched June 12 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The constellation of three satellites will provide daily images of Canada's territory and maritime approaches, as well as images of the Arctic, up to four times a day, according to the Canadian Space Agency. It will have daily access to 90 per cent of the world's surface. The RCM is also equipped with an Automatic Identification System (AIS), allowing improved detection and tracking of ships, including those conducting illegal fishing, the CSA noted. The constellation is orbiting Earth at an altitude of 600 km. Each of the satellites has a life expectancy of seven years. The Canadian government owns the satellites. The three spacecraft were assembled in the Montreal area by the prime contractor MDA. Over a dozen federal government departments and agencies will use RCM images. It is estimated that the Canadian government will use approximately 250,000 images from the satellite constellation every year. That represents a fiftyfold increase from the days of the first RADARSAT-1 system, according to the Canadian government. The majority of the data transmitted from RCM is expected to be used by the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence. RCM follows the highly successful RADARSAT-1, launched by NASA in 1995, and RADARSAT-2, put into orbit by the Russians in 2007. Initial work on RCM began in 2005. The project cost an estimated $975 million. The RCM project was led by the Canadian Space Agency and supported by its principal users: the Department of National Defence, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Public Safety Canada. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-surveillance-satellite-system-now-operational