What’s Canada Buying? – April 13, 2013

• F-35 Tug o’ War  “Lockheed Martin made a stop in Winnipeg …. on its sophisticated road show across the country to promote the controversial F-35 Lightning fighter jet as part of its efforts to convince Canada to buy 65 of the fifth-generation stealth fighters.  The company must report back to Ottawa with a status report on a seven-point plan by mid-May answering questions on things such as third-party oversight, alternatives and industrial participation in Canada.  In Winnipeg, Magellan’s Aerospace’s Bristol Aerospace division may have more at stake than any other company in the country as far as industrial participation goes ….”
• Big Honkin’ Ships  Mark Collins on “RCN’s Arctic/Offshore Patrol Vessels: Neither Fish nor Cetacean”
  
• “The federal government is set to spend up to $200,000 a year for an outside company to track all cyber attacks in Canada and rank how bad the attacks are relative to those in the rest of the world.  The statement of work details precisely what the government requires. It says that the monthly, quarterly and annual reports needed should be “truly representative of the actual cyber threat activity around the world.”  The reports would fill a blind spot in intelligence.  Inside Public Safety Canada, the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre evaluates the seriousness of cyber-threats against Canadian systems and provides advice to average Canadians and businesses on how and what to protect themselves against. But CCIRC is only able to act on information it is provided from private companies; it does not monitor their networks for cyber incidents ….” – a bit more in the MERX posting here
  

What’s Canada Buying? – April 9, 2013

• Mark Collins on “The RCN’s Canadian Surface Combatant Never Never Land”
• “A scathing legal judgment has found the federal government improperly awarded multibillion-dollar contracts in 2002 and 2004, turning a blind eye as the winning bidder used “insider knowledge” and a cozy relationship with evaluators to enrich itself.  Judge Peter Annis ordered the feds to pay losing bidder Envoy Relocation Services nearly $30 million in a decision released Saturday.  “Envoy should have been declared the winner,” Annis found.  The case turned on the then-Liberal government’s awarding of relocation contracts for members of the Canadian Forces, civil service and the RCMP ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War  More on Lock-Mart’s Road Show

What’s Canada Buying? – March 22, 2013

• Budget 2013  The latest on the budget here
• Big Honkin’ Ships  “A German multinational that set up shop in Dartmouth last year is gearing up to take advantage of the Irving Shipbuilding Inc. contract.  MAN Diesel & Turbo Canada Ltd. has an agreement in place with GE Canada, which was selected by Irving as a subcontractor to provide an integrated propulsion system for the new Arctic offshore patrol ships.  Given their relatively short time in Burnside Park, the company, now working on overhauling the engines on Canada’s 12 Halifax-class frigates, is looking to make connections with other suppliers interested in working on Irving’s $25-billion, 30-year deal to build ships for the Royal Canadian Navy.  “We’re looking at meeting local industry,” Katharina Steffen, MAN Diesel manager of business development, marketing and communications, said Tuesday at an event organized by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Atlantic Alliance of Aerospace and Defence Associations ….”
• Remember the call for box lunches for CFB Gagetown?  There have been some changes (raisins instead of celery, how the carrots can be wrapped, how much cereal is needed and different cookies because the original choices aren’t available) – more here
  

What’s Canada Buying? – March 21, 2013

• Big Honkin’ Ships (1)  “Nova Scotia taxpayers are subsidizing up to 8.5 per cent of Irving shipyard worker salaries over the course of the national shipbuilding program.  Amid media and opposition calls for openness, Irving Shipbuilding Inc., released new details about its $260-million loan from the province Tuesday.  Irving had initially blocked the release of several details around the shipbuilding aid, but on Tuesday the province directed the company to release more information.  Irving’s loan will be forgiven at a rate of 8.5 per cent of the salaries it pays out during the life of the shipbuilding program.  So for every $100 Irving pays out in salary to local workers, it will be forgiven $8.50 from the loan.  At first glance, that means Irving would have to pay out over $3 billion in salaries by the time the loan matures in 2041 to earn full forgiveness.  However, there is also 4.5 per cent interest being charged on the loan. The interest is also forgivable if Irving hits enough hiring targets.  Interest will begin accruing and compounding when Irving starts drawing on the loan, said company spokeswoman Mary Keith ….”
• Big Honkin’ Ships (2)  One opinion  “If you thought it hard having to deal with the bizarre budgetary twists and turns of the F-35 fighter jet procurement, with its stratospheric cost overruns, brace yourself for even wilder turbulence over the navy’s massive construction program ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War  Mark Collins on “Gripen E for Canada’s New Fighter?”
• Wanted:  commercial satellite imagery for the CF – more details on how industry will be consulted during the pre-bid and bid process here
  
• Wanted:  someone to “supply …. labour, material, supervision and equipment necessary to install satellite ground terminal, Dockyard Annex (NAD), Dartmouth, Nova Scotia” for around $218,000
• Wanted (by Bulgarian defence ministry):  someone to do tarmac and runway work at Bezmir (Bezmer?) Airbase in Bulgaria for about 30 million Euros

What’s Canada Buying? – March 16, 2013

• “The Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister for Fisheries and Oceans and Minister of the Atlantic Gateway, on behalf of the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, …. officially inaugurated a new barrack and announced the construction of new accommodations for the Cadets at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown …. The new 97-room barrack will provide additional capacity to accommodate training needs. The total project value for this facility is approximately $16.6 million, which includes all aspects of the project such as studies, design, construction, administration, contingencies and taxes. In April 2009, a construction contract was awarded to Springhill Construction Ltd., of Fredericton, New Brunswick, for the construction of the new barrack. An estimated 65 direct employment opportunities were generated from this work over the course of its construction ….” – more background from the Info-machine here
• Big Honkin’ Ships (1)  Mark Collins on “Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy: Nowhere Without Government Help“
• Big Honkin’ Ships (2)  “A leaked memo shows officials at National Defence scrambled behind the scenes last month to reassure the Harper government that they knew how much it would cost to replace the navy’s supply ships.  In a report released last month, parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page said not enough money had been set aside for the $2.6-billion joint support ship program.  Page suggested that it would cost more than $4.1 billion to replace the existing vessels — HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver. Both ships are over 40-years-old and the stop-and-start process to acquire new ones has been going on in earnest for a decade.  To stay within the government’s existing budget envelope, Page said the capabilities of the new ships would have to be scaled back even further.  But a briefing note, prepared for Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose on the same day as Page’s report, suggests the budget officer’s analysis is more theoretical than practical.  It says National Defence’s numbers are further along than the budget officer’s projections, which were based on a sophisticated software model in use around the world, most notably with the U.S. Government Accountability office and even the British Ministry of Defence.  The Canadian navy is using a different system with the help of outside naval contractors, and its figures rely on “actual cost estimates” for both designs that are under consideration.  Even still, they remain estimates, which have been analyzed by independent experts, said the memo written by the navy’s project manager ….”
• Meanwhile, wanted:  a new Parliamentary budget officer - more from a head hunting firm here
  

What’s Canada Buying? – March 15, 2013

• “Canadian shipyards are upbeat about a coming boom, thanks to a multibillion-dollar government investment program, but worry over foreign competition.  Canadian shipbuilders say new investment will help regeneration in a neglected industry but aren’t certain how many of the contracts being handed out by Ottawa will go to foreign companies.  Of biggest concern is the prospect that Canadian companies may struggle when faced with overseas competitors for the supply of electronics and other components in both combatant and non-combatant ships.  Seaspan, an association of Canadian companies primarily involved in coastal and deep sea transportation, bunkering, ship repair and shipbuilding services in Western North America, said it isn’t sure about how much of the new business will stay in Canada.  Seaspan officials said an Ottawa contract to build seven non-combat vessels will help resurrect British Columbia’s shipbuilding industry, North Shore News reported ….”
• “The Department of National Defence requires several components for the SeaBotix deep water Remotely Operated Vehicle ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War  “Top Pentagon officials on Tuesday underscored their support for the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter, saying they would try to protect funding for the most expensive U.S. weapons program despite continued U.S. budget uncertainty and cost over-runs.  The $396 billion program is already seven years behind schedule and 70 percent over initial cost estimates.  “We’ll try to protect F-35,” Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s top arms buyer, told a defense conference. “There’s no question about its priority. Despite sequestration, we’ll still have a budget that’s adequate to support F-35.” ….”

What’s Canada Buying? – March 14, 2013

• The Air Force Association of Canada is calling for more investment in “Manned C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance) Capability“ (mostly, beefing up as many Aurora aircraft before the Air Force runs out of money) - more in the Canadian Defence Matters blog here.  Note to Canadian Defence Matters:  Canada has had smaller surveillance/spy planes in Afghanistan – more on that here and here.
  
• Defence Minister announces new infrastructure in Petawawa  “…. While on base, Minister MacKay took the opportunity to announce the construction of 72 new housing units to house personnel and their families that will move to Petawawa to support the new Medium-to-Heavy Lift Helicopter squadron.  This project’s overall value is estimated at $33.4 million, which includes all aspects of the project such as studies, design, construction, administration, contingencies and taxes.  The new units will include eight barrier-free units, semi-detached homes, and town houses, all with attached garages.  Minister MacKay also announced projects to provide the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, part of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, with a new permanent home and an indoor shooting range with virtual targetry.  These projects will allow the Regiment, created in 2006, to continue its growth ….”
• “The Honourable Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, Q.C., Associate Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament for Delta – Richmond East, along with the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages and Member of Parliament for Port Moody – Westwood – Port Coquitlam, …. announced the awarding of a significant subcontract that will sustain jobs in British Columbia and better equip the Royal Canadian Navy to conduct marine mine detection missions and route survey operations …. The $2 million subcontract, awarded to International Submarine Engineering Ltd. of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, covers the purchase of two complete off-the-shelf, high-speed deployable Aurora Towfish vehicles. The sensor systems that International Submarine Engineering Ltd. will integrate into the towfish will effectively and accurately map the sea floor, with the resolution needed for detection, localization, and identification of objects as small as a lobster trap or as large as a shipwreck ….”
  
• A bit of $ for UAV research  “The Harper Government is supporting Western Canada’s unmanned vehicle systems (UVS) sector through an investment that aims to improve competitiveness and productivity for the aerospace and defence industry.  A federal investment of $227,079 through Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) was announced today by the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification …. The investment will enable Medicine Hat College to purchase three-dimensional rapid prototyping and scanning equipment. Unmanned systems are unpiloted, remotely controlled vehicles that can be equipped to perform a variety of tasks. Besides military applications, there is a diverse range of commercial and public safety applications, including security/police surveillance and mapping.  This initiative will benefit small- and medium-sized businesses across numerous sectors by facilitating business expansion through improved product design, development and commercialization. It will also help respond to the needs of industry by providing opportunities for students to learn the critical skills to excel in the workplace ….”
• Big Honkin’ Ships  “One of the world’s largest defence contractors is in Atlantic Canada this week looking for subcontractors to supply skills and materials to help build Canada’s Arctic offshore patrol ships.  U.S.-based Lockheed Martin is in charge of surveillance and command systems for the new ships.  Irving Shipbuilding was awarded the overall $288-million design contract last week and construction is expected to begin in 2015.  “What we’re really doing is looking around trying to find out what’s new and innovative,” said Michael Barton, Lockheed Martin spokesman.  As part of the deal, Barton said Lockheed Martin must include Canadian companies as much as possible.  “Anything we buy offshore, we have to bring an equivalent amount of money back in to Canada,” he said.  On Tuesday, more than a dozen New Brunswick companies met with Lockheed Martin in Saint John to hear how they can get a piece of the action ….” - a bit more here
• Where is Canada’s defence industry investing research & development bucks these days?
• Wanted:  someone to design & build “New Barrier Free Transitional Accommodations (BFTA) at CFB Esquimalt, British Columbia”
  
• “…. The 405 Long Range Patrol (LRP) Squadron will participate to Exercise Maple Flag in Cold Lake, Alberta.  To provide accommodation services in single occupancy to 23 CF personnel for a total of 18 nights starting 27 May to 08 June 2013 ….”
• Wanted:  someone to expand, restore warehouses in Aviano, Italy for almost 19 million Euros
• More work for Goose Bay:  “…. The work includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the supply of labour, material, supervision and equipment necessary for Asbestos Abatement and Mould Remediation, chapel area; cleaning of chapel, annex and offices. Provide testing after work is completed to ensure there is no asbestos present in the building, Building 388, Goose Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador …. The estimated cost for this opportunity is in the order of $176,000.00 ….”
  

What’s Canada Buying? – March 12, 2013

• F-35 Tug o’ War (1)  Remember the latest search for yet another outside expert to look over the numbers?  We have a winner!  “The Harper Government is committed to a transparent and rigorous process to replace its CF-18 fleet. As part of the Harper Government’s Seven-Point Plan, Public Works and Government Services Canada, on behalf of the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat, today announced the awarding of a $56,217.50 contract to Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton to conduct an independent review of the application of National Defence’s life-cycle cost estimates as part of the upcoming 2013 Annual Update to Parliament on the Next Generation Fighter Capability ….  The purpose of this contract awarded today is to ensure that this framework is appropriately applied by National Defence and that the cost estimates in the upcoming 2013 Annual Update are sound. The Secretariat will manage the work conducted under this independent review, which will be completed after receipt of the annual costing forecasts from the Joint Strike Fighter Program office ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War (2)  What’s the U.S. General Accounting Office saying about the F-35 program so far?  “Current Outlook Is Improved, but Long-Term Affordability Is a Major Concern”
• F-35 Tug o’ War (3)  Political scientist’s take  “That horrible grinding, smashing noise you may have heard from Ottawa a couple of weeks ago was the sound of the Stephen Harper government’s grand F-35 dream self-destructing ….”
• Big Honkin’ Ships  Mark Collins on “Canadian National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy: How Not to Keep Costs Down”
  
• “(Today) the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, will make an announcement related to a major investment for innovative science and technology projects to enhance Canadian public safety and security ….”
• Wanted:  meat for Edmonton, Cold Lake and Wainwright - compare and contrast how much of what kind here
  

What’s Canada Buying? – March 9, 2013

• Big Honkin’ Ships (1)  “The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, along with the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, and the Honourable Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, Associate Minister of National Defence, (Thursday) welcomed the signing of the definition contract with Irving Shipbuilding Inc. for the Arctic/Offshore patrol ships project through the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) …. This is the next contract signed after the ancillary one announced in July 2012 and it will be followed by a construction contract in 2015. This definition contract is a task-based contract divided into seven work packages (or tasks) that could be awarded. With this contract, Irving Shipbuilding Inc. will refine and complete the Arctic/Offshore patrol ships design to production level prior to construction in 2015. The total potential value of the contract is an estimated $288 million and it will support up to 200 jobs ….” - more detail from CDFAI’s Mark Collins (here, too)
  
• Big Honkin’ Ships (2)  “The Harper Government is holding the first in a series of technical consultation sessions for the Canadian surface combatant project (yesterday). This is part of the second phase of industry engagement for this project …. Through this series of technical consultation sessions, the Government is seeking industry input on a number of subjects related to the design of combat ships. The topic of the first of these discussions will be the feasibility of a common hull for both the destroyers and frigates. Additional sessions will be scheduled over the coming months, as further industry input is required ….” - more on the NSPS program here
• F-35 Tug o’ War (1)  CDFAI’s Mark Collins on “F-35 Testing Problems: Canadian and American Media Coverage”
• F-35 Tug o’ War (2)  Some scenarios Canada’s giving to potential bidders to replace the CF-18
  
• F-35 Tug o’ War (3)  How Lockheed Martin’s Info-machine help keeps the plane sold
• “Public Works and Government Services Canada (held) an industry consultation day for the Integrated Soldier System Project (ISSP) (March 5th).  The Government of Canada is now in the process of launching a new solicitation for the procurement of an integrated soldier system. A draft Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued on February 15, 2013, in anticipation of the release of the formal RFP in April, and an industry engagement (was held Tuesday).  On January 25, 2013, the Government of Canada issued a statement indicating that the ISSP solicitation was cancelled because no compliant bids were received in response to the RFP, which was launched in February 2012 and closed in June 2012, to procure equipment and in service support. Normal procedures call for the cancellation of the solicitation in such cases ….”
  
• Wanted (Food)  Snack cakes for CFB Bagotville (how many of what kind here) and boil-in-a-pouch rations from The Wornick Company (also viewable here if previous link doesn’t work)
• Wanted (Other)  Suicide prevention training and literature, casket flags (and bands to hold them on the coffins – specs here), “Provision of QL3 Aircraft Structures Technician Training to be Provided in French,”  someone to “develop and deliver the Data Mediation Interface software to provide integration capability between Government/Military-Off-The-Shelf (GOTS/MOTS) Command Post of the Future (CPOF) software with existing Department of National Defence source information systems” and ice rink time in Ottawa,

What’s Canada Buying? – March 4, 2013

• F-35 Tug o’ War  Canada sends companies surveys about THEIR options to replace the CF-18 – more here (from the Info-machine) and here (from the media)
• Big Honkin’ Ships (BHS)  MP’s pick on the Ministers about how the buy BHS – more here and here
  
• Defence Minister’s going to talk up how much money the military puts into the economy today
• “The Honourable Peter MacKay announced two significant announcements for the Atlantic area …. valued at over $695 000. Minister MacKay announced a one-time government contribution of $240 000 to the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust (CNMT) in support of the naval memorial HMCS Sackville, and the Canadian Naval Memorial Project. Further, on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, announced a contract award of $455 400 to Akoostix Inc. for a Sonar Processor ….”