What's Canada Buying? September 7, 2012

• “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, accompanied by Jeff Watson, Member of Parliament for Essex, …. announced the construction of a new building in Windsor, Ontario to support the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces. This significant infrastructure investment will enable the Naval Reserve Division to better perform their duties and contribute to the overall defence of Canada …. The HMCS Hunter Naval Reserve project involves the construction of a 5805m² integrated facility in Mill Cove on the Detroit River which will provide accommodation for HMCS Hunter and up to three cadet corps. The facility will be large enough to support 250 personnel and will include a main building with a drill deck, classrooms, offices, messes, storage, a boat lift, and a boat shed …. A contract, valued at approximately CAN$15.7 million, has been awarded to PCR Contractor, Inc. of Windsor, Ontario for the construction of this new facility. Approximately 85 jobs will be generated as a result of the construction work ….” – more here.
• Another opening of a new facility coming this afternoon near Trenton  “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, will officiate the grand opening of the cadet Central Region Gliding School’s new hangar at CFD Mountain View on September 7, 2012. Media are invited to attend ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War  An American critic of the plane sees a difference between Canadian and American politicians he’s spoken to  “…. The differences between Canadian politicians and members of Congress are utterly stunning. Unlike here, oversight in the Canadian Parliament is alive and well. In Canada, I found two political behaviors unheard of in the United States: Opposition politicians actually try to understand the issue they are talking about, and they take offense at being lied to ….”  A hat tip to Eric Palmer for drawing my eye to this one.
• An update on the Close Combat Vehicle, from the latest Backgrounder (Backgrounder also downloadable here if link doesn’t work):  “…. The CCV project will involve the procurement of 108 CCV, to include Infantry Fighting Vehicle, Forward Observation Officer, Engineer Reconnaissance, and Tactical Command configurations.  The project scope also includes the option to procure up to 30 additional vehicles, as well as the development and implementation of an in-service support contract.  Following the conclusion of a Solicitation of Interest and Qualification (SOIQ), a Request for Proposals (RFP) was released to the Pre-Qualified Bidders. There were no technically compliant bids received in response to the original RFP. A second RFP, issued to the five Pre-Qualified Bidders in April 2012, closed in early September 2012. Contract award is expected in 2013 ….” – you can check out the list of pre-qualified bidders here.
• Remember the call for ideas to help make Canada safer?  There’s now a bidder’s handbook available to help those with ideas ask for bucks.
• Wanted:  someone to provide “a Regional Individual Standing Offer (RISO) for the provision of Limousine Chauffeur Services. The requirement is to transport domestic and foreign military and civilian guest lecturers, Very Important People (VIPs), the Canadian Forces College Commandant and the Canadian Forces College Chief of Staff within the Toronto, ON area.”
• Canadian technology measures up soldiers, sailors and airmen  “The technology used by the Canadian Forces is likely to become the envy of tailors everywhere.  A project, led by the Canadian military, will soon be travelling to bases throughout the country collecting body images of soldiers with a 3D scanner.  Working with Guelph research and consulting company Human Systems Inc., the body scan survey is aimed at painting an accurate picture of the various body shapes and sizes of people in the armed forces, in order create clothing and equipment that fits the individuals properly.  The uniforms, vehicles and buildings used by the Canadian military are all based on accommodating certain body type measurements that were taken in surveys done in the past.  The Canadian Air Force held its most recent survey in 1985, the Army did a survey in 1997 and the Navy has never had a survey done. The Navy has been developing its equipment and uniforms based on the body types of soldiers in the army.  “We can’t use United States Army data or United Kingdom data because we have different ethnocultural differences in the population,” said Allan Keefe, the project lead with Defence Research and Development Canada.  “In order to accurately reflect a population, you need to sample that particular population. You get into challenges when you start to make estimations.” ….”

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