With resources stretched, Canadian navy warships out of NATO forces for first time since 2014

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  14 septembre 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Analysis: New defence chief's main job could be to preside over budget cuts

  Premium content David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen, Postmedia News (dpugliese@ottawacitizen.com) Published: Sep 11 at 7 a.m. Updated: Sep 11 at 2:01 p.m. Candidates have been interviewed for the country's top military position but whoever is selected will likely have the tough job of presiding over significant cuts to the Canadian Forces as the federal government tries to get its fiscal house in order. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced July 23 that Gen. Jonathan Vance would leave the position as chief of the defence staff, the job he has held since July 2015. Trudeau said he expected a new CDS to be named in the coming months. Defence and government sources say interviews for the position were held this week with a number of candidates. Lt.-Gen. Christine Whitecross, who is heading into retirement, is considered the front-runner for the job if she wants it. Whitecross still has an office at defence headquarters at Carling Avenue and there is an interest in the Liberal government to have a woman in the job of defence chief for the first time. The view that Whitecross has strong support within the Liberal government was further solidified when Trudeau took the unusual step on July 18 of singling out the lieutenant general on Twitter. He thanked the officer for her three decades of service in the Canadian Forces and for “being a strong voice for gender equality in the military.” Among the other individuals considered to be candidates for the chief of defence staff job are Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, who recently took over as second-in-command of the Canadian Forces, navy commander Vice Adm. Art McDonald, air force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger and army commander Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre. Vice-Admiral Darren Hawco's name has also been mentioned. At least eight individuals were to be interviewed, according to various government sources. But the new CDS is expected to face the challenge of dealing with significant budget cuts because of the financial strain on federal coffers created by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Spending on various emergency relief programs has resulted in Canada's deficit increasing to $343 billion this year, according to the federal government's economic snapshot released in early July. Trudeau has acknowledged that the full economic impact of the pandemic is unknown. A second COVID-19 wave could further worsen the economic situation. Department of National Defence deputy minister Jody Thomas said in a June 5 interview with The Canadian Press that she hasn't seen any indication defence spending, and the government's defence policy called Strong, Secure, Engaged, or SSE, will even be affected at all by COVID-19. There have been no slowdowns and the DND and Canadian Forces has been aggressively pushing forward on implementing SSE, according to Thomas. Behind the scenes, however, there is significant concern within some quarters in the military about the cuts expected in the coming years. Some organizations within National Defence headquarters have already told staff to prepare for a rocky road in the future. The Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence, with the largest source of discretionary funds in the federal government, is a ripe target for cost-cutting. DND's current budget is listed as $21.9 billion. SSE has been billed by the Liberal government and its supporters as “a historical investment in Canada's military” since it promises $497 billion for the Canadian Armed Forces over 20 years. But the policy was always built on shaky foundations, as was the previous Canada First Defence Strategy brought in by the Conservative government and largely undercut by funding reductions at that time. Despite defence analysts' cheerleading on both policies, the fact is that such strategies only promise future spending. There is no guarantee and plans can be jettisoned as fiscal circumstances change. In 1994 the Liberal government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien embarked on significant cost-cutting measures throughout the federal government as it struggled to deal with the deficit. The Canadian Forces and the DND were a prime target during that period. Equipment was mothballed. Military and civilian staff were cut. The coming years could see a replay of similar cost-reduction measures. Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020 https://www.saltwire.com/news/canada/analysis-new-defence-chiefs-main-job-could-be-to-preside-over-budget-cuts-495666/

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  25 novembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  ATC returning to Mirabel in January

  Effective Jan. 30, 2020, air traffic controllers will once again be working at Montreal International (Mirabel) Airport (CYMX). Following the completion of a recent aeronautical study, Nav Canada has decided to reinstate air traffic control (ATC) services at the airport for 16 hours a day, from 1100 to 0300 Coordinated Universal Time (1000 to 0200 UTC during daylight savings time) using the current mandatory frequency 119.1 MHz. While the tower is in operation, the control zone and terminal control area will become Class C airspace. When ATC is closed, the Flight Service Station (FSS) will operate and the airspace will revert to Class E and transponder airspace. Nav Canada said ground control service during ATC operating hours and ground advisory service during FSS operating hours will be provided on VHF frequency 121.8 MHz. Mirabel saw over 69,000 movements in 2017 and exceeded 75,000 in 2018. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/atc-returning-to-mirabel-in-january/

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  14 janvier 2019 | Local, Terrestre

  Fires and rollovers plague Canadian Army's $600 million fleet of new armoured vehicles

  David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen he Canadian Army's new armoured vehicles have been plagued by rollovers and fires, the latest in a series of problems to affect the $600-million fleet. Since April 2014, there have been 10 incidents when Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles have tipped on to their sides, six where they have rolled over completely, and four where they have caught fire. Pat Finn, the assistant deputy minister in charge of procurement at the Department of National Defence, told Postmedia there have been no serious injuries as a result of the incidents. But the problems are not the first to hit the Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles or TAPVs. The TAPV program has “experienced a number of significant technical issues, particularly affecting vehicle mobility,” then-defence minister Rob Nicholson was told in August 2014. There have been problems with the suspension, steering and other items on the vehicle, according to a briefing document released under the Access to Information law. The technical issues significantly delayed the test program for the vehicles, the document added. “These accumulating incidents, which relate to the vehicle's ability to travel distances on medium cross country terrain, led the project office to conclude the existing testing could no longer continue.” The Conservative government announced the TAPV contract in 2012 as part of its re-equipping of the Canadian Army. Canada bought 500 TAPVs from Textron, a U.S.-based defence firm, at a cost of $603 million. The TAPV is a wheeled combat vehicle that will conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, security, command and control, and armoured transport of personnel and equipment. Finn said as a result of the various incidents further quality assurance tests are being done. “It's kind of high off the ground so it can be more agile,” he explained about the vehicle. “(But) it brings with it a high centre of gravity.” “It may be it's about training and understanding the vehicle,” Finn added. None of the vehicles have been written off because of the incidents, according to the Canadian Army. “Upon review of the major TAPV incidents, it has been identified that the most common contributing factors of these incidents tends to be human error due to limited familiarity time operating the vehicles,” the army noted in an emailed statement to Postmedia. The army pointed out that investigations into the incidents did not reveal any design or mechanical faults. “Primary reports on the majority of these incidents (rollover and tip-overs) were attributed to a combination of factors, such as operator experience, the vehicle's high centre of gravity, weather conditions, and/or vehicle speed,” the email noted. The army did not provide any explanation for the four fires on the TAPVs. The army noted that it is considering limits on the speeds the vehicles can operate at as well as “rollover hazard mitigations” and “recommendations such as the use of new technology to enhance experience for new drivers and crew.” The army did not provide further details on those new technologies or initiatives. The TAPV project will cost taxpayers a total of $1.2 billion, which not only includes the vehicles but also includes the building of infrastructure to house them, as well as the purchase of ammunition and service support for the equipment. The initial problems with steering and other issues delayed the delivery of the vehicles. After those were dealt with, the army had to contend last year with concerns about brakes and the distance the vehicles needed to stop. The TAPV is a heavy vehicle and requires longer stopping distances at higher speeds than most new drivers are familiar with, noted DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier in July 2018. The fleet of TAPVs have been distributed across seven bases and 24 units throughout Canada. The Canadian army has said it expects to declare full operational capability by mid-2020, following training of all operators. TAPVs were first deployed in spring 2017 to assist communities affected by the flooding in Quebec. dpugliese@postmedia.com Twitter.com/davidpugliese https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/fires-and-rollovers-plague-canadian-armys-600-million-fleet-of-new-armoured-vehicles