19 mai 2021 | Local, Aérospatial
Babcock, Leonardo to jointly pursue Canada’s Future Aircrew Training programme
Babcock Canada and Leonardo Canada have signed a letter of intent to jointly pursue Canada's Future Aircrew Training Program (FAcT).
15 novembre 2018 | Local, Terrestre
Saudi Arabia and the Canadian Arms Lobby
by Yves Engler
Will they cancel the contract or won't they? In order to understand Ottawa's decision making process regarding General Dynamics' massive arms deal with Saudi Arabia one must look closely at industry lobbyists.
While the Trudeau government is under substantial public pressure to rescind the $15 billion Light Armored Vehicle sale, to do so would challenge the company and the broader corporate lobby.
Last week a senior analyst with the GD-financed Canadian Global Affairs Institute boldly defended the LAV sale. "There has been no behavior by the Saudis to warrant canceling this contract", said David Perry to the London Free Press. Perry must have missed the Kingdom's violence in Yemen, repression in eastern Saudi Arabia and consulate murder in Istanbul.
Two weeks ago Perry told another interviewer that any move to reverse the LAV sale would have dire consequences. "There would be geopolitical implications. There would be a huge number of economic implications, both immediately and in the wider economy... canceling this, I think, would be a big step because as far as I understand the way that we look at arms exports, it would effectively mean that we've changed the rules of the game."
Amidst an earlier wave of criticism towards GD's LAV sale, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute published a paper titled "Canada and Saudi Arabia: A Deeply Flawed but Necessary Partnership" that defended the $15-billion deal. At the time of its 2016 publication at least four of the institute's "fellows" wrote columns justifying the sale, including an opinion piece by Perry published in the Globe and Mail Report on Business that was headlined "Without foreign sales, Canada's defense industry would not survive."
Probably Canada's most prominent foreign policy think tank, Canadian Global Affairs Institute is a recipient of GD's "generous" donations. Both GD Land Systems and GD Mission Systems are listed among its "supporters" in recent annual reports, but the exact sum they've given the institute isn't public.
The Conference of Defence Associations Institute also openly supports GD's LAV sale. Representatives of the Ottawa-based lobby/think tank have writtencommentaries justifying the LAV sale and a 2016 analysis concluded that "our own Canadian national interests, economic and strategic, dictate that maintaining profitable political and trade relations with ‘friendly' countries like Saudi Arabia, including arms sales, is the most rational option in a world of unpleasant choices." Of course, the Conference of Defence Associations Institute also received GD money and its advisory board includes GD Canada's senior director of strategy and government relations Kelly Williams.
Full article: https://original.antiwar.com/yves_engler/2018/11/13/saudi-arabia-and-the-canadian-arms-lobby/
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25 avril 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
Charlie Bouchard steps down from Lockheed Martin Canada’s top job
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Charles Bouchard announced his decision Wednesday to retire as Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin Canada effective April 30. Bouchard, a retired lieutenant general, served in the role for nearly six years. He had a 37-year career in the Royal Canadian Air Force. “I have thoroughly enjoyed serving Lockheed Martin Canada and Lockheed Martin Corporation and while the time has come for me to retire, I will remain an ardent supporter and advocate of the work Lockheed Martin does to deliver the best equipment to today's modern warfighter, the F-35 being a primary example,” Bouchard said in a statement. Lorraine Ben will serve as Interim Chief Executive. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/charlie-bouchard-steps-down-from-lockheed-martin-canadas-top-job
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29 mars 2019 | Local, Naval
No need to lengthen Type 26 warship to meet Canada’s needs, says DND
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Industry representatives have been talking about the possibility that the Type 26 design will need to be altered significantly to meet Canadian requirements. There have been suggestions that the length of the ship will have to be increased by 10 metres to better accommodate a Canadian crew size. Questions about such a possibility were even raised by MPs at a Commons defence committee meeting last month. But the Department of National Defence says there's nothing to such claims. DND spokeswoman Ashley Lemire points out that Lockheed Martin's proposal, based on the BAE Type 26, meets the requirements outlined in the Canadian government's request for proposal. “Therefore, there is no need to lengthen the proposed design to meet Canada's requirements,” she said. DND procurement chief Pat Finn also faced similar questions from Conservative MPs during the Commons defence committee meeting last month. The Conservatives raised concerns about about whether the Type 26 had the speed or size to meet Canadian requirements. MPs also asked questions about whether the cost of the Canadian Surface Combatant program was increasing from $60 billion-$65 billion to $77 billion. Finn said there are no issues on speed or size for the Type 26. “The requirement for the Canadian Surface Combatant set standards for speed, berths, etc., so there's no cost increase to the bid because of speed or berth,” Finn explained to MPs. “There's been no documentation prepared and nothing has come across my desk that says there's a cost increase to $77 billion.” https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/no-need-to-lengthen-type-26-warship-to-meet-canadas-needs-says-dnd