What's Canada Buying? October 29, 2012

• Wanted:  Companies interested in fixing, maintaining Leopard tank turrets.
• “A Crown agency that promotes Canadian exports of arms and other products will have to accept much more risk as it moves into new markets abroad, says an internal report.  The Canadian Commercial Corp. is under pressure from Canadian firms to find new customers in the Middle East, South America, Africa and India as its traditional market — the United States — shrinks.  The corporation, created in 1946, negotiates government-to-government contracts to reduce the risks of non-payment to exporters, who lack the clout of the Canadian state when foreign governments try to skip their bills.  But the agency has itself become “risk-averse,” and will have to shed that attitude to better serve firms hungry for a more diverse customer base, says an analysis ordered by Ed Fast, the international trade minister.  “The corporation would have to be less risk-averse if it is to develop business in promising geographical regions, e.g., Middle East and in emerging economies,” the report concludes.  At the same time, the analysis urges caution in at least one export sector — nuclear energy, including Canada’s Candu reactors — where costs can rapidly spiral. Last year, the federal government licensed its Candu design to a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin ….”
• Wanted:  Bottled water for DRDC Suffield.
  

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