Canada May Unveil Fighter Plans Today

Cabinet Could Decide Fighter Plan As Early As Tuesday (excerpt)

(Source: The Canadian Press; posted Nov 21, 2016)

By Lee Berthiaume

Industry sources expect the Liberal government to decide as early as Tuesday whether to purchase a new fighter jet without a competition.

Federal cabinet ministers are reportedly considering three options for replacing Canada's CF-18s, one of which they are expected to pick during their weekly closed-door meeting on Parliament Hill.

The options include holding a competition, buying a new warplane without a competition, or purchasing an "interim" aircraft as a stop-gap measure until a future competition.

The government was eyeing the third option in the spring, with the intention of buying Boeing Super Hornets, until an outcry from industry and the opposition forced them back to the drawing board.

But while Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan held consultations with different industry players in the summer, industry sources say the interim option is back as the preferred choice.

Sajjan's office refused to comment on Monday, with a spokeswoman saying only that a decision still has not been made.

In the House of Commons, Conservative defence critic James Bezan called for an open competition to replace Canada's CF-18s.

Purchasing Super Hornets without a competition would "be foolishly putting billions of taxpayer money at risk," he said. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the CBC website.

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Communication Scam

(Source: Alan Williams; issued Nov 21, 2016)

Alan Williams is a former assistant deputy minister of materiel at the Canadian Department of National Defence.

The government's attempt to justify a "sole-source" contract under the guise of an "interim" solution is nothing but a communication scam. Calling the purchase "interim" does not make it any more legal (it is contrary to the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)) and merely repeats the insanity of the previous government but with a different solution.

The public would still have no idea why this jet is best suited as an "interim" solution as no statement of requirements (SOR) has been publicly produced.

Without competition, the government would lose all leverage with respect to obtaining industrial and technical benefits for our Canadian industry, would raise the costs to Canadian taxpayers by eliminating the downward pressure on costs that could only be derived through a competition, and most importantly, would leave the men and women in the military uncertain whether it has been provided with the best aircraft to meet its needs. The military would be further punished as the costs to maintain two fleets would have to come from its already strained budget.

As the government is undoubtedly aware, its argument to sole-source because of an urgency may sound good but is nonsense.

First, an urgent need does not legally justify sole-sourcing. As mentioned above it would be contrary to the clauses in the AIT.

Second, a competition could deliver a result within a year. Third, this argument rings hollow. If there is such an urgent need, why has the government squandered the last 12 months since it took power?

Having committed to an open, fair and transparent process and having seen the wreckage that befell the Conservative Government once it announced a sole-source acquisition, surely the Liberal Government would not venture down the same path. Or would it?

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