What's Canada Buying? August 21, 2012

• Big Honkin’ Ships  Mark Collins on “An Adult Approach in Canada to Vessel Procurement” – more here.
• Usual caveat:  no sign of the briefing note being shared yet, so no word what else is there  “Naval planners have started to lay the groundwork for the possible replacement of the country’s second-hand, glitch-prone Victoria-class submarines, arguing such warships are a necessary part of Canada’s arsenal.  Planners say the country will likely need bigger, quieter boats that can perform stealth missions, launch undersea robots and fire guided missiles at shore targets.  A nine-page briefing note for the country’s top military commander last year sets out the justification for keeping a submarine capability, and comes at a time when the Harper government wants budget savings in both the near- and long-term.  The report looks at what kinds of boats will be on the market between 2020 and 2050.  Ottawa was awash in rumours last spring that the current submarine program was on the chopping block because of its enormous expense and repeated setbacks, including a fatal fire aboard one boat in 2004.  “Submarines are the ultimate stealth platform, able to operate in areas where sea and air control is not assured, and to gain access to areas denied to other forces,” said a May 9, 2011, briefing for Chief of Defence Staff Walt Natynczyk.  “A capable submarine force creates uncertainty; countering them is difficult, expensive and cannot be guaranteed.” ….”
• Wanted:  Someone for “the supply of labour, material, supervision and equipment necessary for the construction of a new parking lot north of Yukon Street and east of Beaver Avenue and the installation of a petroleum storage area (POL) at CFB Trenton” for ~$990K and someone to build “High Frequency Surface Wave Radar HFSWR Infrastructure, Hartlen Point, Halifax, NS” for ~$296K.
• Some of the usual suspects don’t like Canadian companies selling stuff – next to schools, no less.  “…. The social justice group Homes not Bombs has long protested at the site of Canada’s largest drone profiteer, L-3 Wescam, located right next door to a private elementary school in Burlington, Ontario. The group conducted their first attempted weapons inspection of the plant in late 2002 and numerous direct actions have followed, but such challenges have not, unfortunately, slowed the relentless search for newer targeting systems (though one employee informed the group of a resignation, spurred to leave when s/he discovered the true nature of their work) ….”

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