Canada Suspends Aid to Iraq and Kurdish-Peshmerga

By: David Pugliese, The National Post 

Canada has suspended the assistance its special forces were providing to Iraqi security forces as Iraqi and Kurdish forces battle each other.

Canadian commandos have been working with the Kurds and some assistance has been provided to the Iraqis.

Canadian special forces look over a Peshmerga observation post, Monday, February 20, 2017 in northern Iraq.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

But, “given the fluidity of the current situation, Canada’s Special Operations Task Force has temporarily suspended the provision of assistance to various elements of Iraqi security forces,” Canadian Forces spokesman Col. Jay Janzen said Friday.

“Once more clarity exists regarding the interrelationships of Iraqi security forces, and the key priorities and tasks going forward, the Task Force will resume activities,” he said. “In the interim, they will continue to monitor the situation and plan for the next potential phases of operational activity.”

The Ottawa Citizen reported Wednesday that Canada is also reviewing its program to supply the Kurds with small arms.

Canadian special forces have been providing assistance to the Kurds and Iraqis in their war against ISIL. But with ISIL in retreat, Iraqi and Kurdish forces are now fighting each other. The Kurds want to separate from Iraq and, during the war against ISIL, they seized large portions of the country. That included the city of Kirkuk and nearby oil fields, which hold an estimated 40 per cent of Iraq’s oil.

The Iraqi government declared the recent Kurdish referendum supporting independence illegal and sent troops to retake Kirkuk and other territory.

The Kurds offered on Wednesday to put any drive towards independence on hold, but that was rejected by the Iraqis.

However, on Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered a 24-hour ceasefire. That “should allow a joint technical committee to work on the deployment of federal Iraqi forces in all disputed areas, including Fish-Khabur, and the international border,” Abadi said in a statement.

The Kurds have welcomed the pause in fighting.

Janzen said the Canadian Forces will continue to support the U.S.-led coalition battling ISIL. That includes the provision of transport helicopters, a medical facility and surveillance and intelligence gathering capabilities.

“Only the provision of assistance to various elements of Iraqi security forces has been temporarily suspended,” Janzen said.

The previous Conservative government sent Canadian special forces to northern Iraq to train the Kurds starting in 2014. That program was continued by the Liberals.

But the issue of training and arming the Kurds has been highly controversial from the start. Kurdish leaders openly acknowledged their intent was to eventually create an independent state. The arms were needed both to fight against ISIL and to defend an independent state, they said.

The Kurds say at least 30 of their soldiers have been killed and another 150 wounded in ongoing clashes.

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the Kurds’ top diplomat in Washington, said it’s past time the international community end its “laser focus” on ISIL and begin to address Iraq’s many underlying problems.

“’We are laser-focused on (ISIL).’ That has been the mantra of the past few years,” Abdul Rahman told The Canadian Press. “But to continue to say we’re laser-focused on (ISIL) is missing the obvious truth of what is happening in Iraq.”

Quebec Wants More Federal Shipbuilding Contracts

By: ANDREA GUNN, The Chronical Herald

Quebec is formally calling on the federal government to rejig its massive shipbuilding strategy in order to give the province a bigger share of the multibillion-dollar pie.

Members of the Quebec National Assembly unanimously passed a motion Wednesday requesting that the federal government adjust Canada’s national shipbuilding strategy so Quebec gets what it believes is its fair share of federal contracts. The motion also asked Ottawa to “grant Quebec the contracts necessary” for the replacement of coast guard and Royal Canadian Navy ships, including the acquisition of a second Resolve-class tanker.

Responding to the motion, the province’s major shipbuilder, Chantier Davie Canada Inc., issued a news release commending the Quebec government.

“The federal government is going to invest almost $100 billion over the next 20 to 30 years on its fleet renewal,” Alex Vicefield, chairman of Davie Shipyard, said in the release. “Quebec represents 50 per cent of Canada’s shipbuilding capacity and 23 per cent of Canada’s tax base, yet it is receiving less than one per cent of federal spending on shipbuilding.

“Today, Quebec is at risk of losing a significant number of middle-class jobs due to bureaucratic intransigence and road-blocks within a broken procurement system, despite the clear and obvious need for Canada to urgently renew the entirety of its fleet.”

Bloc Québécois MP Michel Boudrias sought to put forward a similar motion in the House of Commons on Wednesday but was denied the unanimous consent required for the point of order.

WORK PREVIOUSLY AWARDED ON REGIONAL BASIS

Retired navy commander and defence analyst Ken Hansen said, looking at the historical context it’s easy to see why Quebec is miffed: Previously all shipbuilding for the government was done on a regional apportionment basis. But, he said, that was inefficient and contributed to the “boom and bust” cycle the government was trying to avoid by developing the national strategy.

“The strategy was designed to provide continuous work so that they wouldn’t go through these startup and shutdown cycles which cost money and cause chaos in the workforce,” he said.

After initial analysis, Hansen said, Ottawa concluded there wasn’t enough money or work to sustain long-term employment at more than two shipyards, so the national strategy approach was born, and Davie did not make the cut.

In 2011, Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax was named prime contractor for the combat portion of this strategy and is building six Arctic and offshore patrol vessels, the first to be delivered in 2018, and up to 15 Canadian surface combatants to be built in the 2020s.

The contract is expected to cost around $60 billion and create hundreds of long-term, well-paying jobs in Halifax

Seaspan on the West Coast was awarded the non-combat portion of the shipbuilding strategy and is building a number of science vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard as well as two joint support ships, the first to be delivered in 2020.

DAVIE PITCHES FOR MORE WORK

Though Davie was in bankruptcy when the national shipbuilding strategy contracts were awarded to the other two yards, the company is now solvent and is in the process of converting a commercial container ship into an interim auxiliary naval replenishment for the Canadian navy.

The MV Asterix has been hailed as a success and is expected to be delivered before the end of the year.

Known as Project Resolve, Davie pitched the idea to the previous Conservative government as a way to bridge the gap in tanker capabilities from the loss of the Protecteur class while Seaspan completes its support ships. The Tories accepted the bid and the Liberals considered reviewing it when they took power in 2015, but ultimately the contract remained in place. The vessel will be leased to the federal government for five years at a cost of about $700 million, with an option to renew for an additional five years.

On Wednesday, the federal Conservatives issued a release urging the government to accept Davie’s proposal to build a second Resolve-class interim vessel.

Davie has also pitched a series of other unsolicited bids to the Liberal government — in 2016 the company offered to deliver icebreakers and support ships, claiming they could do so faster and cheaper than what is already planned, but those bids were rejected by the government.

As for whether Quebec has a leg to stand on with new demands to Ottawa, Hansen said it depends on political pressure.

“The big concern is the Liberal caucus from Quebec and how much pressure they can bring to bear on the prime minister and cabinet about this issue, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

OTTAWA COMMITTED TO CURRENT STRATEGY

Central Nova Liberal MP Sean Fraser told The ChronicleHerald he cannot see a realistic scenario where the government changes the shipbuilding strategy to favour Quebec because of political pressure from a provincial legislature.

“We’ve got 32 Atlantic Canadian MPs who are great advocates for their region, and we have the expertise and technology capacity to win any merit-based competition,” he said.

In an emailed statement, Christine Michaud, spokeswoman for federal procurement minister Carla Qualtrough, said the Liberal government remains committed to the shipbuilding strategy.

“As set out in the National Shipbuilding Strategy, $2 billion in small ship construction is set aside for competitive procurement amongst Canadian shipyards other than the yards selected to build large vessels. Chantier Davie is eligible to compete for small ship construction projects (under 1,000 tonnes), as well as ship repair, refit and maintenance requirements,” she said. “Our government is committed to consulting the marine industry on other requirements that may arise following an open and competitive procurement process.”

Irving Shipbuilding declined comment on the Quebec motion or the statement by Davie, but a spokesperson provided some information about economic benefits the strategy is already leveraging across Canada via major suppliers, including more than $250 million in Quebec.

For Canada's SAR Planes 'tactical grey' is the new yellow

By: David Pugliese, The National Post

Canada’s new search-and-rescue aircraft will abandon their familiar yellow paint scheme, instead getting a makeover that will allow them to be used in other missions, including combat.

The Royal Canadian Air Force has requested that its new fleet of 16 search-and-rescue planes be painted tactical grey and have asked for a change in the original contract which stipulated a yellow colour scheme.

The C-295W, being built by Airbus, will replace the main search-and-rescue fleet of six Buffalo aircraft as well as the Hercules transport planes which are also used at times in a search-and-rescue role.

The Buffalos are painted yellow, as are Canada’s other fully dedicated search-and-rescue aircraft such as the Cormorant helicopters.

Royal Canadian Air Force staff board a Brazilian C-295W plane Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at CFB Trenton, Ont. Luke Hendry/Belleville Intelligencer/Postmedia Network

“The RCAF has made the decision to use a grey colour scheme for the C-295W fleet to enable surging flexibility for the very wide range of missions the RCAF is required to conduct, from humanitarian and disaster relief missions, to security missions with partners, and all the way to full spectrum operations,” Department of National Defence spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said Thursday.

He noted that the Hercules used in the search-and-rescue role are painted grey so they can be used in missions other than rescue.

Sources inside DND, however, have raised concerns about what they say is a unilateral decision by the RCAF leadership. They worry the RCAF used the opportunity to replace the search-and-rescue aircraft as a way to instead outfit itself with a new fleet of multi-mission transport planes.

They said at the time that it provided the high visibility needed for search-and-rescue, both for those in the air and on the ground

When the Liberal government awarded the contract to Airbus in December 2016, cabinet ministers highlighted the importance of having the right aircraft for the search-and-rescue job. “With this technology, we are giving our women and men in uniform the tools they need to continue to deliver effective and essential search and rescue operations,” defence minister Harjit Sajjan said at the time

RCAF insiders defended the change in the paint scheme, saying any aircraft can be called upon to be used in a variety of missions, including in an overseas war zone.

Defence analyst Martin Shadwick said it was the Canadian Forces that decided to switch to the yellow paint scheme in the 1970s because it aided in search-and-rescue. “They said at the time that it provided the high visibility needed for search-and-rescue, both for those in the air and on the ground,” said Shadwick, who teaches strategic studies at York University.

The Buffalos, first purchased in 1967, are key to search-and-rescue on the west coast and in parts of the Rockies and the yellow paint scheme was deemed to be an advantage in those situations.

Shadwick said the decision to have the new fleet of planes available for potential overseas missions raises new questions. Under the existing contract, private-sector employees are going to play the main role in maintaining the planes.

“So, if you are now going to use the C-295 in a front-line role, maybe even as combat transport, does that mean your private-sector workers go along on the overseas mission?” Shadwick said.

The project to buy new search-and-rescue planes took more than a decade. In 2004 the then-Liberal government announced the program as a priority. The project was re-announced by the Conservatives in 2006; the contract was supposed to be awarded in 2009 but continued being delayed for years.

Other questions have also been raised about the purchase. After the contract was awarded, it emerged that the Canadian government made a last-minute change to the amount of money available to spend on its new fleet, but didn’t bother informing the bidders trying to win the contract. Though the program’s budget jumped from $3.4 billion to $4.7 billion, the losing bidder, Italian aerospace firm Leonardo, was still under the impression Canada could only afford to spend the lesser amount and cried foul after tailoring its bid based on that information.