Nouvelles

Le gouvernement du Canada accorde une aide financière de 500 000 $ à cette entreprise hautement innovante du Grand Montréal Le 21 mai 2019 – Kirkland (Québec) – Développement économique Canada pour les régions du Québec (DEC) Réflex Photonique est un chef de file dans la conception, la fabrication et la commercialisation d'éléments d'optique électronique et de photonique dans les domaines de la défense, de l'aérospatiale, des télécommunications et des centres de données. Elle fournit des émetteurs-récepteurs intégrés robustes pour une interconnexion d'environnements difficiles. Cette entreprise hautement innovante a connu une croissance impressionnante dans les dernières années et a investi plus de deux millions de dollars en recherche et développement en 2018. Pour continuer sur sa lancée, elle bénéficiera d'une contribution remboursable de 500 000 dollars de Développement économique Canada pour les régions du Québec. Gr'ce à cette aide financière, l'entreprise pourra faire l'acquisition d'équipements spécialisés à la fine pointe de la technologie, tels un testeur du taux d'erreur et des logiciels d'analyses, ainsi que de l'équipement destiné à l'automatisation de procédés. Ce financement a été annoncé aujourd'hui par le député de Lac-Saint-Louis, Francis Scarpaleggia. L'aide du gouvernement du Canada permettra plus spécifiquement à Réflex Photonique inc. de répondre à la demande croissante des donneurs d'ordres, d'accroître sa production et d'assurer un meilleur contrôle de la qualité de ses produits. Avec des investissements de près de deux millions de dollars, ce projet permettra également de créer des emplois de grande valeur qui contribueront à améliorer les perspectives économiques pour la classe moyenne. Citations « L'appui à des entreprises de haute technologie contribue à renforcer l'économie canadienne, à maintenir notre compétitivité internationale et à générer de la richesse. Performante et axée sur l'avenir, l'entreprise Réflex Photonique contribue sans conteste à la croissance économique de Montréal et du Canada, et crée des emplois pour la classe moyenne. » Francis Scarpaleggia, député de Lac-Saint-Louis « Notre gouvernement donne les moyens aux Canadiens de devenir plus compétitifs et de prospérer au sein de l'économie mondiale. L'investissement dans Réflex Photonique annoncé aujourd'hui cadre avec les avantages concurrentiels du Canada gr'ce au projet d'expansion de l'entreprise et stimulera la croissance économique. » L'honorable Navdeep Bains, ministre responsable de DEC « Nous avons le privilège de compter sur des employés loyaux, passionnés et dévoués qui ont énormément contribué au succès de Réflex Photonique au cours des dernières années. Nos partenaires stratégiques, clients et fournisseurs, ont certainement également été une source de motivation constante pour développer de nouveaux produits et technologies à forte valeur ajoutée. Je suis également très honoré de diriger Réflex Photonique, qui est maintenant reconnue internationalement comme un leader dans son industrie. Les investissements de nos partenaires financiers, ainsi que l'agrandissement de notre siège social, permettent à la société de poursuivre sa croissance tout en s'adaptant aux besoins des marchés que nous desservons. » Noël Dubé, président et chef de la direction, Réflex Photonique https://www.canada.ca/fr/developpement-economique-regions-quebec/nouvelles/2019/05/reflex-photonique-pourra-poursuivre-son-expansion.html

By NEIL MOSS Canada would be 'better served' if defence projects are overseen by a non-partisan body, says a retired Armed Forces colonel, who oversaw procurement and equipment management policy. https://www.hilltimes.com/2019/05/13/questions-abound-over-ugly-defence-procurement-system-following-mark-norman-case/199729

ELINOR SLOAN, CONTRIBUTED TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL RICK BOWMER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Elinor Sloan, professor of international relations in the department of political science at Carleton University, is a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. For a bid to buy a plane designed to cut quickly through the skies, Ottawa's pursuit of a future-generation fighter jet has been a long and torturous slog. In 1997, Jean Chrétien's Liberal government joined the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, a U.S.-led initiative conceived as a new way for allies to work together to design, develop and produce a fifth-generation fighter aircraft. In 2006, Ottawa signed a formal memorandum of understanding that gave Canada and the other eight partner nations the exclusive right to compete for contracts to produce such aircraft and, since 2007, Canadian companies have won more than US$1.3-billion in defence contracts related to the Joint Strike Fighter. With a production line that will be operating at full capacity starting this year, and is expected to produce about 10 times as many aircraft as exist today over the next few decades, this number promises to grow substantially. Meanwhile, Canada's nearly 40-year-old fleet of fighter jets – the CF-18s – continues to age. In 2010, the Harper government shelved its plan to sole-source buy the Joint Strike Fighter to replace them after a public outcry and a damning auditor-general's report that found significant weaknesses in the process used by the Department of National Defence. Then, when the Liberals took office in 2015 and promised an open and fair competition to replace the CF-18s, it also banned the F-35 from bidding – two contradictory positions. The Trudeau government quietly dropped that ban last year, and pre-qualified four companies to bid on a contract worth at least $15-billion: Sweden's Saab Gripen, Britain's Airbus Eurofighter, the U.S.'s Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and, yes, Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. According to letters released last week, though, the U.S. government threatened to pull the Lockheed Martin F-35 from consideration last year over Ottawa's insistence that Canada receive industrial benefits from the winning bid. In response, Ottawa relaxed its requirement on Thursday: Where bidders once had to commit to spend 100 per cent of the value of the aircraft's acquisition and sustainment in Canada, bids will now only lose points in a three-category scoring system in the review process, instead. With such exhausting twists and incompatible statements, it's little surprise that it took three and a half years of the government's four-year mandate just to get to the formal request-for-proposal stage. But there is a way out of this morass: pursuing a back-to-basics focus on why we need this aircraft and what we need it to do. To do so, we must focus on the proposed jets' promised technical capabilities, which are paramount, and rightly weighted the highest of that three-category scoring system. The second category is cost, which of course is important to any government. The third is creating and sustaining a highly skilled work force within our own borders, a goal enshrined in Canada's industrial trade benefits (ITB) policy, which requires a winning bid to guarantee it will make investments in Canada equal to the value of the contract. Each bid is scored by these three categories, weighed 60-20-20, respectively. However, the Joint Strike Fighter program, which Canada has spent millions to join, does not fit neatly into the ITB policy. In those letters last year, the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin pointed out that Canada's ITB terms are inconsistent with – and indeed prohibited by – the memorandum of understanding Canada signed in 2006, which says partners cannot impose industrial compensation measures. The solution reached on Thursday allows that memorandum to be obeyed, but since Canada will still give higher grades to bids that follow its ITB policy, questions remain as to whether the playing field has really been levelled. All of this is important because of the growing competition between the major powers. Russian bombers and fighters, for example, are increasingly testing the boundaries of Canadian and U.S. airspace. More than ever, the focus needs to be interoperability with the United States, working together on NORAD and helping NATO allies in Europe. As a flying command-and-control platform, rather than a mere fighter, Canada's next-generation jet must work with the United States' most sophisticated systems, and include a seamless and secure communications capability – that is a critical and non-negotiable criterion. Indeed, as DND has said,the United States will need to certify the winning jet meets Washington's security standards. Some may question the federal government's decision to relax the ITB rules, and to grant this certification sign-off. But whatever Canada buys must be able to address threats to us and to our allies until well into the 2060s. Our relationship with the United States, both in terms of geopolitics and military technology, is crucial. Despite our trade tiff, the United States remains our most important strategic partner. Canada can either take an active part in our own security, or leave it to the United States. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-us-needs-to-be-a-key-part-of-canadas-next-gen-jet-procurement/

SAINTE-ANNE-DE-BELLEVUE, QC, May 10, 2019 /CNW/ - Through Canada's defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, the Government of Canada is ensuring that our women and men in uniform have the equipment they need to do their jobs and to protect Canadians. Today, the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport and Francis Scarpaleggia, Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Louis, on behalf of the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, announced that the Government of Canada has awarded a $39-million contract to Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates Corporation (MDA) of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, to design, build and deliver 10 search and rescue repeaters for National Defence's Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) system. This contract will help create or maintain 44 jobs over the length of the contract, which will stimulate economic growth in Quebec. Deployed on a satellite, a repeater detects signals from distress beacons across the country and along Canada's coastlines and relays them to a ground station. As part of an agreement between National Defence and the United States Air Force (USAF), the Canadian repeaters will be hosted on USAF's next-generation GPS satellites. The MEOSAR system is expected to deliver improved response times for search and rescue activities and increase accuracy to locate people, ships or planes in distress. It will replace Canada's current search and rescue system, which has been in place for several decades. Quotes "Our Government is committed to providing the Canadian Armed Forces with cutting-edge technology for search and rescue operations to save those in distress in Canada. These repeaters will be designed and built with homegrown Canadian aerospace expertise, supporting our aerospace sector and stimulating economic growth in Quebec." The Honourable Marc Garneau Minister of Transport "Through this investment, our government is supporting the Canadian Armed Forces in their important work to help save people's lives both on land and sea. The contract with MDA will also help sustain economic growth in our community with 44 good middle-class jobs. ." Francis Scarpaleggia, Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Louis "This project builds on the successful partnership between National Defence and MDA to develop innovative solutions that are vital to Canada's sovereignty and security. Once qualified as operational, this system will dramatically improve both the speed and location accuracy for detecting beacons, and as a result, greatly enhance the coordination and dispatch of search and rescue teams to help people in distress." Mike Greenley Group President of Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates Corporation Quick facts The Government of Canada's defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, reaffirms Canada's commitment to invest in our military, and sustain our search and rescue capabilities. Alongside the Canadian Coast Guard, the Canadian Armed Forces responds to more than 9,000 search and rescue calls annually, approximately 1,000 of which result in the launching of search and rescue air assets. The contract will run until February 1, 2029. The government may extend the contract to August 1, 2034, if it elects to acquire an additional 12 repeaters. The contract was awarded following an open, fair and transparent competitive procurement process, which included a fairness monitor who observed the procurement process. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/government-of-canada-awards-contract-for-new-space-based-search-and-rescue-technology-832448437.html

La Presse canadienne Le plus haut responsable de l'approvisionnement militaire au Canada affirme que les prochains avions de chasse des Forces armées canadiennes pourraient subir des modifications pour être certifiés selon les normes américaines, mais il ne s'inquiète pas d'une possible ingérence politique des États-Unis. Correction : Dans une dépêche transmise vendredi, La Presse canadienne avait erronément rapporté que les États-Unis devraient approuver tout achat d'avion de chasse par le Canada. En réalité, le Canada peut acheter le modèle qu'il veut, mais l'appareil choisi pourrait subir des modifications pour être certifié selon leurs normes. Patrick Finn, sous-ministre adjoint du Groupe des matériels du ministère de la Défense nationale, a fait savoir que les États-Unis devaient certifier que l'avion de combat choisi par le Canada est conforme aux normes de sécurité américaines. En effet, quel que soit l'appareil qui va remplacer les vieux CF-18, il doit être compatible avec le réseau de renseignement le plus sécurisé des États-Unis, qui vise à protéger l'Amérique du Nord par l'entremise du Commandement de la défense aérospatiale de l'Amérique du Nord (NORAD). Le NORAD utilise un réseau de satellites, de radars basés au sol, de radars aéroportés, ainsi que des avions de chasse pour détecter et intercepter les menaces aériennes visant le Canada et les États-Unis. Des représentants de l'industrie craignent que cette obligation serve de prétexte aux États-Unis pour empêcher le Canada d'acheter les modèles Eurofighter Typhoon ou Saab Gripen, fabriqués par des sociétés européennes. Ces entreprises sont des concurrentes des constructeurs américains. Ces inquiétudes sont particulièrement vives en ce moment, étant donné l'attention particulière qu'accorde l'administration du président Donald Trump à la vente de produits américains à des pays étrangers. Bien qu'il soit incapable d'exclure entièrement ce risque, Patrick Finn indique que cette certification ne sera nécessaire que dans plusieurs années, et que des responsables américains ont déjà manifesté leur ouverture à l'achat d'avions non américains par le Canada. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1169226/futurs-avions-chasse-canadiens-approbation-washington

OTTAWA, ON (May 6, 2019): In a hard-hitting new Macdonald-Laurier Institute report, MLI Senior Fellow Richard Shimooka takes a critical look at the government's approach to replacing Canada's aging fleet of CF-18 fighters. In the report, titled The Catastrophe: Assessing the Damage from Canada's Fighter Replacement Fiasco, he argues that Ottawa's performance on this file mirrors the SNC-Lavalin Scandal and the Mark Norman Affair. “At their heart, these two incidents represent attempts by the Liberal government to circumvent established processes to meet their partisan interests,” Shimooka explains. “This description is just as apt for the fighter program.” Canada is a participant in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program that has been developing the F-35s. These fighter jets were slotted to replace the RCAF's aging CF-18s, but after the program was mired in political scandal under the previous government, the Liberal government changed plans. “During the 2015 election campaign, the Liberal Party promised not to buy the F-35 jets, but instead to use a competition to identify and subsequently purchase a lower-cost competitor... this decision proved to be impossible, unethical, and potentially illegal,” writes Shimooka. From billions of dollars being wasted on a procurement process to fix a contrived capability gap to potentially threatening Canada's defence relationship with the US, the report finds that political interests have consistently been put above Canada's defence needs. Shimooka argues that “the decisions made [regarding fighter jet replacement] were purely for reasons of political interest: not a single one could be claimed as being in the country's national interest.” The “fiasco,” as Shimooka describes it, has caught the attention of both Canada's Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and senior US officials. According to documents never before seen by the public, the OAG had specifically cautioned the government against its chosen course of purchasing Australian Hornets as an interim measure in a draft report – and the final OAG report was heavily revised to obscure that recommendation. Worse still, letters from US officials reveal that “resentment and distrust towards the government of Canada had grown, particularly within the US Air Force.” These letters, which again have not been made public until now, outline the significant strategic and economic benefits that have already been accrued from being part of the JSF Program. Yet they also contain an implicit (but clear) threat that Canada could be kicked out of the Program – if Ottawa continues with its current policy of trying to obtain guaranteed industrial benefits that, by their very nature, are not allowed under the JSF Program. “There was a complete lack of logic of Canada's policy, which seemed to ignore basic facts about membership in the JSF program, including clear advantages in cost and capability that the F-35 provided.” Despite these persistent, high-level issues with the government's chosen approach on the fighter jet replacement, the file has avoided serious public scrutiny. Shimooka finds that this happened in large part due to the successful gag orders levelled by the government. “The government has also suppressed negative viewpoints within and outside the Department of National Defence, allegedly up to and including the deletion of portions of Memos to Cabinet that highlighted why certain decisions should not be taken.” Moving forward on the file may prove to be difficult; defence procurement woes have plagued Canada since Confederation, and the issues with the fighter jet replacement are deeper than just purchasing the right aircraft. Worse still, Shimooka says that the brunt of the burden of consistently poor decision-making in Ottawa will be borne by the RCAF itself. “While the negative consequences are clear for Canada as a whole," Shimooka explains, "no community has felt the impact more than the RCAF. As a result of this government's policies, its ability to conduct its most basic function, the defence of Canadian sovereignty and that of our allies, is diminishing rapidly.” “It is a sad state of affairs.” To read the commentary in full, click here. https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/assessing-damage-canadas-fighter-replacement-fiasco-new-mli-report/

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen The Canadian government is changing the terms of the $19-billion competition to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets to allow the U.S. to enter its F-35 stealth fighter. The changes will allow for a more flexible approach in determining the value of the benefits bidders offer to Canadian defence firms, industry sources say, and come after a series of discussions with the U.S. government and threats by the Pentagon to withdraw the jet from consideration. Under the current terms, bidders were required to offer industrial benefits to Canada as part of the competition. That system, which would have disadvantaged the F-35, will now be amended, sources say. But those companies that do guarantee work for Canadian firms will receive more consideration under the new rules. U.S. officials had warned that the agreement Canada signed to be a partner nation in Lockheed Martin's development of the F-35 prohibits those partner nations from imposing requirements for industrial benefits in fighter jet competitions. “We cannot participate in an offer of the F-35 weapon system where requirements do not align with the F-35 Partnership,” U.S. Navy Vice-Adm. Mathias Winter told Canadian officials in a letter sent in December. Under the agreement, companies from the partner nations are eligible to compete for work on the F-35s, and contracts are awarded on a best-value basis. Over the last 12 years, Canadian firms have earned more than $1.3 billion in contracts to build F-35 parts. In a statement issued last week, Lockheed Martin Canada said that hundreds of Canadian jobs had been created by work on the jet. The firm noted that it continued to provide feedback to the U.S. government, which is involved with Canada in government-to-government discussions on the fighter jet program. The competition to win the Canadian contract for a fleet of 88 new fighter jets was launched on Dec. 12, 2017 and at this point four fighter jets are expected to be considered. Those include the F-35, the Super Hornet, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Gripen. The Canadian government expects to award the contract in 2022. A request for bids for the new jets was scheduled to be released in conjunction with the CANSEC defence trade show in Ottawa at the end of the month, with bids to be evaluated by 2021. However, the government now admits that schedule is risky. In its latest update on major equipment projects the Department of National Defence said “The approved schedule is considered very aggressive,” and that “The project team is managing a number of risks which have the potential to impact schedule.” The document doesn't outline the specific risks but DND officials have acknowledged that figuring out how to deal with industrial benefits linked to the project could cause delays. The delivery of the first of the jets is expected in the mid-2020s, with the full capability available in the early 2030s, according to the DND document. The plan to purchase used Australian F-18s in the interim, the first already delivered, is also outlined in the document. It noted the final delivery of those jets is set for the end of 2021. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-changing-rules-of-competition-for-19b-fighter-jet-fleet-to-allow-consideration-of-f-35-sources

By Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The federal government is planning to loosen its industrial requirements for fighter-jet makers in the $19-billion competition to replace Canada's aging CF-18s. The planned modification follows recent U.S. complaints that the previous criteria violated Canada's obligations as one of nine partner countries in the development of the F-35, one of the small handful of planes expected in the competition. Yet the proposed change has sparked complaints from some of the companies whose planes will be competing against the F-35, who say the new approach goes too far in the other direction. Canada has long required companies bidding on major defence contracts to commit to re-investing back into the country, with those unable to make such a contractual commitment seeing their bids tossed out. But in a presentation to companies on Thursday, the government said it plans to allow bids missing such a commitment in the fighter-jet competition — they will be just docked points in the assessment. The plan is intended to maximize the number of bids in the competition to buy 88 new jets while still aiming for the largest-possible economic spinoffs, a senior government official told The Canadian Press. The U.S. had threatened not to enter the F-35 into the competition if the requirement wasn't changed, noting that under the partnership agreement signed in 2006, companies in each member country instead compete for work. The threat was contained in a letter sent to the government from the head of the Pentagon's F-35 office in December and published in a report from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think tank on Monday. Canada has contributed roughly $500 million over the past 20 years toward developing the F-35, while Canadian companies have won nearly $1.5 billion in contracts associated with the stealth fighter. Canada will also be able to buy the plane for less than non-members. The proposed new process will see the government evaluate bids on a scale, with 60 per cent of the points based on the plane's capability, 20 per cent on its full lifetime costs and the remaining 20 per cent on industrial benefits to Canada. Bidders can still guarantee that they will re-invest back into Canada if their jet wins the competition and get all 20 points - which is the likely approach for Boeing's Super Hornet, Eurofighter's Typhoon and Saab's Gripen. But those that can't make such a commitment will be asked to establish "industrial targets," lay out a plan for achieving those targets and sign a non-binding agreement promising to make all efforts to achieve them. The government will study those plans and assign points based on risk. This is the likely approach for Lockheed Martin and the F-35, which the U.S. has said could provide Canadian companies with billions in work over the next 50 years. The planned new approach has already stirred complaints from some of Lockheed Martin's competitors, who question why the F-35 should get points if the company can't guarantee re-investment back into Canada. There are also concerns about how the government will decide how risky plans to achieve "industrial targets" actually are, with one industry source saying that question is entirely subjective. Bidders were also told Thursday that the actual launch of the competition has been delayed until mid-July. Government officials had previously said they hoped the starting gun would be fired by the end of the month. Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2019/05/09/feds-ease-industrial-requirements-for-fighter-jet-makers-after-u-s-complaints/

Military.com | By Gina Harkins The next generation of Canadian sailors has grown up with phones in their hands, and they're not likely to give up their connectivity for life on the high seas. When working with industry partners designing the technology needed on future Royal Canadian Navy ships, leaders are putting internet connection high on the list, Rear Adm. Casper Donovan, director of the navy's general future ship capabilities, said Tuesday. "We have sailors who've grown up in a digital world -- they are digital," Donovan said at the annual Sea-Air-Space expo near Washington, D.C. "... When they embark on a Canadian surface combatant and we tell them to lock up their phone, they won't just go 'OK.' "They won't join the navy," he said. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/05/08/canadian-admiral-kids-wont-join-navy-if-ships-dont-have-wi-fi.html