Canadian Surface Combatant Project Starts with Numerous Uncertainties

By: David Pugliese, The Ottawa Citizen

The Canadian Surface Combatant project has officially kicked off with the request for proposals sent out to industry. The winning ship design is expected to be selected by summer 2017, the government says.

But federal officials still have no clue how many ships will be built. Originally the program was to produce 15 or 16 vessels. That was changed. The phrase now used by government is “up to 15.”

Construction of the first Canadian Surface Combatant is to begin in the early 2020s. But no one knows how exactly many ships will be built….nor do government officials seem too concerned. “One of the things we need not do right now is decide the number of ships,” said Patrick Finn, assistant deputy minister, materiel, at the Department of National Defence.

The cost of the project is also not being released….at least for now. It was originally estimated that the surface combatant program would cost $26 billion but that was way off and the Royal Canadian Navy later figured the final tally would be more than $40 billion. But who knows if that cost estimate will further change? $45 billion? $50 billion? If the number of ships to be built could be reduced then the government could bring its costs down….but then the Royal Canadian Navy might not get enough warships for its missions.

The Canadian Press has written on some of the other issues affecting the Canadian Surface Combatant program. Here is what CP writes:


Scratch building from scratch. The Liberal government announced in June that Canada would buy a pre-existing warship design from a foreign company rather than designing one from scratch in Canada. The new approach is designed to save time and money. But it has opened up other problems, including how to ensure Canadian industry benefits from the project. Companies have also pushed back against the government’s demands that it be given unlimited access to the blueprints of whatever design wins. That sets up an important debate between national security and intellectual property rights, which still hasn’t been fully resolved.

Rules of the game. The competition to choose a warship design is actually being run by Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, which is responsible for ultimately building the vessels. Some potential bidders have quietly alleged that Irving will stack the deck in favour of British company BAE. The fact BAE will be allowed to enter its Type 26 frigate into the competition despite the ship still only being in development has not helped matters. But Irving and the government have pushed back on suggestions they will favour BAE or any other competitor. They say an independent fairness monitor has approved the bidding process, and that the navy will be watching over Irving’s shoulder every step of the way.

The Case to Merge VAC and DND

By: Ryan Olshansky, CDA Institute 

CDA Institute Analyst Ryan Olshansky makes the case to merge Veteran Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defence.

Transition has been an ongoing issue for veterans who have to deal with both the Department of National Defence (DND) and Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). Our sacred obligation to veterans requires seamless transition to civilian life. Yet, with the rocky transition between VAC and DND remaining rampant, I suggest veterans would be better served if the two departments merged.

Veterans who begin their transition to civilian life jump through several hurdles to receive the benefits and services to which they are entitled. Once they are released by the military, veterans participate in a transition interview with VAC, where all the requirements for benefits and services are made clear. Responsibility is put on the veteran to collect the necessary medical records and to submit them alongside a completed application form. Given the sheer volume of applications, and the fact that many applications are incomplete or are missing records, decisions often take a few months.

Admittedly, VAC has made improvements to transition over the past couple of years. For example, VAC recently hired 101 more staff in disability benefits processing to support veterans with applications and to render decisions more quickly. Budget 2016 provided $78.1 million over five years to hire more case managers. VAC also recently created MyVAC Account, an online portal in which veterans can apply for benefits and services and track their applications online in the comfort of their own homes. Indeed, ever since the Auditor General issued a report in 2014 that said the Disability Benefits Program is “slow, and the application process is complex,” the Department has made tangible efforts to make transition easier and less stressful.

But these solutions still ignore a fundamental problem: silos between departments. Interdepartmental client-​exchange has proven to be a thorn in the side of veterans and the government alike. It has compromised standards of care, compounded wait times and added additional stress to veterans.

I do not think we should be surprised that standalone veterans’ affairs departments are mired in controversy around the world. Obviously, VAC has dealt with a number of issues the past few years. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has been under intense scrutiny for long wait times. While the reasons are obviously multifold, it is clear that the transition of mentally and physically debilitated veterans into separate departments is difficult. The French government has paved a different path, where veterans’ affairs is administered by the Ministry of Defense. In France, the Minister of Defence is advised on veterans’ affairs policy by the Secretary of State for War Veterans. The Secretary of State is held to account politically, and French veterans enjoy the benefits of tightly integrated military and post-​military administrations.

One way to reduce these silos in Canada is to have an interdepartmental committee that standardizes and synthesizes all health-​related policies, processes and IT programs between VAC and DND. This would be a huge undertaking at which successive governments have not proven to be very good. A simpler way to deal with these silos is to eliminate them altogether and merge the two departments. Former Senator and retired general Romeo Dallaire posited in the Senate Committee on National Defence that VAC should be absorbed as a sub-​department in DND and be represented by an associate minister. He has a point. One soldier served under a single roof for their entire life makes eminent sense. A move to DND would simplify the points of contact for veterans and it would consolidate service providers. Veterans would get access to all health and wellness services offered to serving members. A merger would also benefit serving members; a single department with the goal of equality for all soldiers and veterans has the mandate to do away with the outdated policy of excluding many modern-​day veterans from guaranteed beds in long-​term care facilities.

Most importantly, it would provide for near immediate information sharing and consistent decisions. A medically released soldier would straightaway qualify for benefits that are equal to the injury that caused their release. Too many times a soldier is medically released from the military with a seriously debilitating injury – let’s say 70 percent, only to discover that it was measured by VAC at a lesser mark – maybe 35 percent. How is that fair? A merged department would be able to use consistent calculations when deciding benefits.

VAC’s mandate also includes commemoration, but they exercise that mandate in conjunction with DND and Heritage Canada, both of which are capable of growing their departments to celebrate veterans and historic battles, especially since VAC’s budget last year allocated less than one percent to commemoration.

There would be pushback from VAC staff located in Charlottetown; a move to National Defence or a separate merged department would require a good many to relocate to Ottawa. This is why a VAC-​DND merger will require a dose of good faith and political will, both of which the current government has in spades. It is not coincidental that Prime Minister Trudeau made the dual appointment of Minister Hehr to VAC and DND to deal with transition. To the Prime Minister’s credit, the first step in solving a problem is recognizing there is one.

Minister Hehr would be wise to heed the advice of General Dallaire, and if this government isn’t bold enough to swallow the pill and face internal backlash from public officials at VAC, then cries about the treatment of our veterans will amount to nothing more than crocodile tears.

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Ryan Olshansky is a former advisor to the Veterans Affairs Minister and the Associate Defence Minister. He recently graduated from Carleton University and is an Analyst at the CDA Institute. (Image courtesy of Justin Tang/​Canadian Press.)

Liberals Announce Streamlined Procurement Approach to Accelerate Delivery of Canadian Surface Combatant Vessels

Government of Canada Press Release

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - June 13, 2016) - Government of Canada

The Honourable Judy M. Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, and the Honourable John McKay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, representing the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, today announced a streamlined and transparent procurement approach to deliver the Canadian Surface Combatant to the Royal Canadian Navy up to two years sooner than originally planned.

The refined procurement approach will allow Canada to competitively and transparently select an existing warship design to modify, rather than continuing with the previous approach of selecting a Warship Designer and a Combat Systems Integrator to custom design the Canadian Surface Combatant.

The government used input from industry and Steve Brunton, its shipbuilding expert advisor, to develop the streamlined procurement approach. Canada will continue to work closely with the industry and remains committed to generating middle-class jobs, economic benefits and industrial growth for the country through the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

Quotes

"The Canadian Surface Combatant project is the most complex procurement in Canadian history. Along with the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships project, it will create 2,400 direct shipbuilding jobs in Halifax. We continue to seek opportunities to deliver ships as quickly as possible and to ensure that this and other ship construction projects provide middle-class jobs and prosperity to hardworking Canadians. This streamlined approach is aligned with our efforts to modernize procurement and to make it easier for Canadian businesses to work with government."

The Honourable Judy M. Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement

"I am pleased to see the refinements announced today to the Canadian Surface Combatant procurement strategy. This new streamlined and transparent process will help deliver on the government's commitment of providing the ships the Royal Canadian Navy needs to defend Canadian sovereignty, and will support economic growth in Canada."

The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence

"Canada is a maritime nation and has the longest coastline of any country on earth. These new ships will ensure that the Royal Canadian Navy is ready to take on maritime challenges of the 21st century."

The Honourable John McKay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

"Through the application of the Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy on the Canadian Surface Combatant project, the Government of Canada will leverage economic benefits by creating opportunities for Canadian content on the vessels while generating billions of dollars in high-value investments in marine and other sectors of Canada's economy. These large investments will help to drive innovation and growth for years to come, while greatly strengthening our shipbuilding industry."

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Quick Facts
The Canadian Surface Combatant project will replace Canada's aging destroyers and frigates. Ship construction is scheduled to commence after the completion of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships in the early 2020s and the procurement is expected to span 20 to 25 years.
The Canadian Surface Combatants will be the major surface component of maritime combat power for Canada. The inherent warfare capability and versatility of the fleet, either independently or as part of a Canadian or coalition task group, will allow it to rapidly deploy worldwide on short notice.
As part of the government priority to modernize procurement practices, Public Services and Procurement Canada is streamlining its practices to make them faster and easier for government departments to buy, and for suppliers to sell.

Related Products

Backgrounder on the streamlined procurement approach for Canadian Surface Combatant

Associated Links

National Shipbuilding Strategy

DND paralyzed as politicians, bureaucrats pass the buck: retired admiral

Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- A retired admiral is telling the Trudeau government's defence review that National Defence is often paralyzed by timid bureaucrats and politicians who pass the buck on decisions.

Retired vice-admiral Bruce Donaldson, who until a few years ago was second-in-command of the military, says in a written brief that the system is set up to avoid risk and accountability.

"I suggest that there is a culture of risk intolerance that has infected the federal level -- financial in the case of public servants, and political in the case of ministers -- that has led government to prefer additional process, "third-party validation" of responsible officials' work, and serial delay to achieving results," Donaldson wrote.

He is referring to a trend that has developed since the political fiasco surrounding the F-35 stealth fighter purchase, which has seen government increasingly turn to outside experts and panels to assess and rubber-stamp its plans.

"Indeed, it appears that there is now a view that avoiding spending on intended outcomes is somehow a desirable 'result' for Canadians."

Instead, Donaldson says the net result is costly delays and failure to deliver necessary equipment and support.

Donaldson, who retired in 2013, also says the public has little understanding of federal finances, and doesn't realize that less money is spent on defence than in servicing the country's debt.

"Canadians lack any context for understanding the management of public funds at the federal level, and have been encouraged to view the expenditure of hundreds of millions -- or billions -- of dollars on military capability as inherently wasteful and unreasonable and has been encouraged to see spending on the military as wasteful."

He suggests government has done a poor job of educating citizens on the necessary cost of doing business as a country.

The Liberals held the first in a series of six public consultations this week in Vancouver as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan attempts to craft an updated vision for the military.

It is the first time in over 20 years that citizens have been asked what role they believe the Canadian Armed Forces should be playing in the world and with what equipment.

The panel also heard from the country's leading organization representing defence industry contractors, which encouraged the Liberals to talk about more than just capabilities and hardware lists.

Christyn Cianfarani, head of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, says the defence review should commit the federal government to crafting a vision of how the defence industry can address the country's unique security and economic challenges.

Canada, unlike other countries, has not sat down and determined which industries are key national security assets. The notable exception is the shipbuilding industry, where the Harper government made a conscious decision to build both warships and coast guard vessels in the country, rather than off-shore.

Other nations, such as Britain, France, Japan and even Australia, have a more sophisticated relationship with their industries and weapons-makers and have decided to nurture and support key industrial sectors.

Cianfarani says she is not advocating anything as radical or expansive as the national shipbuilding strategy, which was also intended to stave off the collapse of the sector.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, she said more focus and organization could be put towards encouraging development in cyber-technology, Arctic mapping and communication, even unmanned aerial vehicles.

That could open up the Liberals to charges of picking winners and losers in the corporate world.

"I would rather have you pick a winner, than pick nothing and end up with losers," she said.

"In the absence of making a decision, inevitably the decision will be made for you. If we do not signal to foreign nations and foreign suppliers that there are things in Canada -- things we are willing to invest in -- then inevitably business will decide for you. Other nations will decide for you what you are left with."

Ottawa to Track Veteran Suicides

Ever since the Globe and Mail investigation; The Unremembered which conclusively showed that 54 CAF members committed suicide following deployments to Afghanistan, nearly 1/3 of all combat related deaths within Afghanistan - there has been a greater call for Veterans Affairs to take a closer look at Veterans and current serving CAF members following deployments.

The Globe and Mail released today that Ottawa will now regularly track veteran suicides.

Here is the article written by RENATA D’ALIESIO

Veterans Affairs is taking steps to solve a crucial statistical gap by planning to report on suicides of former military members annually starting in late 2017 – a move that will disclose, for the first time, how many vets are taking their lives each year in Canada.

While the coming change is taking too long for some veterans advocates, it will mark a milestone when implemented: Suicides of released military members have never been regularly tracked in Canada, even after intense combat missions, such as the Second World War and Korea.

INVESTIGATION
The Unremembered

158 Canadian soldiers died in the Afghanistan mission. But the losses did not end there. A Globe and Mail investigation reveals a disturbing number the military has kept secret: that at least 54 soldiers and vets killed themselves after they returned from war

In a statement Tuesday, Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr said that “better tracking and reporting on suicides will help inform our suicide prevention actions.” He added that the Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs must continue to address the stigma of mental health and encourage those in need to seek treatment.

“Even one soldier, sailor, airmen or women suffering from the invisible wounds of a mental health injury or committing suicide, is one too many,” Mr. Hehr said.

The lack of monitoring was one of several failings highlighted in a Globe and Mail investigation of suicides of soldiers who died after serving in the 13-year Afghanistan war. Through an Access to Information request to National Defence and poring over more than a decade’s worth of death notices, The Globe found that at least 48 active-duty soldiers and six veterans had taken their lives after returning from the Afghanistan operation.

The Canadian Forces released an updated number soon after The Globe’s investigation was published in late October, raising the suicide count to at least 59 military members and veterans – more than one-third of the number of soldiers who died in the war. There were 158 Canadian military deaths in theatre during the NATO-led combat operation that began in 2001 and ended last year.

Since The Globe’s series of stories, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has instructed the ministers of Veterans Affairs and National Defence to make a new suicide-prevention strategy a priority. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, has directed the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance, to examine the military’s mental-health services and efforts to reduce suicides.

The Globe’s series also drew attention to the fact that soldiers who died by suicide after returning from Afghanistan are not recognized in the same way as those who perished in the mission, even when their suicides were deemed attributable to military service. On Remembrance Day, Mr. Hehr, who is also associate minister of national defence, told The Globe he wants to ensure these soldiers and vets are commemorated.


The minister is meeting with representatives of about 30 stakeholder groups in Ottawa on Wednesday. The groups have been asked to provide him with feedback on priorities outlined in Mr. Trudeau’s mandate letter.

Gen. Vance applauded the department’s plans to improve the monitoring of former military members. In a statement, he said: “I remain committed to ensuring the well-being of all members of the Canadian Armed Forces, whether they are currently serving or veterans.”

Veterans advocates have long vented frustration at Canada’s lack of suicide tracking of former soldiers. The Canadian Forces keeps tabs on the number of active-duty military members who kill themselves, although its data on reservists are incomplete. A recent report released by the military’s surgeon-general revealed that suicides have increased in the army in recent years and the impact of overseas deployment may be emerging as a risk factor.

Canada’s only comprehensive look at veterans’ suicides showed that former members make up the lion’s share of military suicides in Canada. The Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study, released in 2011, was done in partnership with Statistics Canada, National Defence and Veterans Affairs. It revealed that 78 per cent of 934 military suicides documented from 1972 to the end of 2006 involved vets. Male veterans were 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than Canadian men of the same age – an increased risk that translated into 231 more vet deaths than expected.

David Pedlar, director of research for Veterans Affairs, said the department will be watching to see if vet suicides remain elevated. Officially known as the Veteran Suicide Mortality Study, the examination will involve linking National Defence data – which includes whether a member was released from the military – with Statistics Canada’s database of deaths from all provinces and territories. (Names of military members will be removed after the data are linked.)

Dr. Pedlar, who is leading the project that began late last year, said the methodology is still being ironed out. At the moment, it’s unclear how far back the first annual suicide report will go. Initial analysis will not include deployment history, Dr. Pedlar said, but both vets who were clients of Veterans Affairs and those who were not will be captured in the study.

“Right now the focus is on being able to get a high-quality suicide number and rate for release to Canadians on an annual basis,” Dr. Pedlar said. The study, he added, will give “us trends over time, which is something we don’t have right now. … That will be important information for us.”

The study has taken a lot of time to put together because it involves two departments and a federal agency, Dr. Pedlar said. Data quality has been an issue, too. The 2011 study that showed an increased suicide risk among veterans relied on National Defence human-resources information that did not accurately capture deployment history, said Elizabeth Rolland-Harris, a senior epidemiologist with the military’s directorate of force health protection.

“It was clear that we needed to find better data,” she said in an interview at a military health-research conference in Quebec City last week.

Dr. Rolland-Harris is leading the second run of the Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study, which will produce a separate report from the veteran suicide study. She said the new examination will use member pay data, which is more reliable, and include those who enrolled in the military between January, 1976, and mid-2015.

The pay data will allow researchers to look at deployment and occupational history and to include Class C reservists who served full-time at some point during the nearly 40-year period. Class C designations are applied when reservists deploy to missions such as Afghanistan. Reservists were excluded in the 2011 study.

Initial results from the new cancer and mortality study are expected in 2017. Dr. Rolland-Harris said the examination will be one of the most comprehensive military suicide studies ever done in the world.

Still, former veterans ombudsman Pat Stogran is frustrated that the public will have to wait another two years to get a clearer picture on how many vets are taking their lives annually. He believes regular tracking of vet suicides could already be happening, if there had been a will to do so.

“This is a demographic that the federal government has complete control over,” said Mr. Stogran, a retired colonel. “We got to start demanding transparency and accountability and value for money.”

Follow Renata D’Aliesio on Twitter: @renatadaliesio 

(The Above was Written by RENATA D’ALIESIO, of The Globe and Mail)