$26B Canadian Surface Combatant Program Under Review

Written by: JOHN IVISON, Ottawa Citizen
Published in the Friday February 12, 2016 Edition

The multibillion-dollar solesource deal to build a fleet of warships for the Royal Canadian Navy is being reviewed by a newly formed Cabinet committee set up to take a closer look at controversial defence procurement contracts.

Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax was awarded the build contract as part of Canada’s largest-ever defence procurement project, the $26-billion Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program.

A concept design of the Canadian Surface Combatant from BMT Fleet Technology

Irving was also named as the prime contractor on the design phase. That role allows Irving a say in designating subcontractors for the project, and awards Irving a cut of their payment — which could be even more lucrative than building the ship hulls, since up to 70 per cent of the cost of the vessels derives from the complex combat systems that will be installed on them.

That role as prime contractor is now “under active discussion,” said a senior industry source.

Irving’s appointment as prime contractor was greeted with shock in the industry. Since the contract was awarded without being put out to tender, accusations followed that the taxpayer might have received a better deal had competing bids been received.

The Conservatives justified handing Irving the work without a tender on the basis that it would save money having one contractor instead of two (one for the build, one for design), each charging a percentage fee on every dollar spent.

Government and industry sources say Irving put out calls last fall for information and data from pre-qualified defence companies interested in bidding on the design and combat systems integration phase of the project.

However, that process stopped “dead in its tracks” after the new Liberal government indicated its plans for a new ad hoc Cabinet committee, chaired by Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, to review key projects including the warship program and the plan to replace the CF-18 fighter jets.

Sources said the choice of Irving’s Halifax yard as the construction site for the combat vessels is not in question. Justin Trudeau promised as much during the election. “We will be able to guarantee the delivery of current procurements for the navy, we will keep those promises for the Halifax shipyards,” he said in September.

As Postmedia reported last month, Public Services and Procurement Canada has confirmed that no contract has been signed between the government and Irving, even though Irving has been designated prime contractor for the “definition and implementation” phase. “While three preliminary services contracts have been awarded to (Irving) for work relating to the CSC project the definition contract for CSC has not yet been awarded.”

A spokeswoman for new Public Services minister Judy Foote said Thursday: “Discussions on the process of selecting a warship designer and combat systems integrator are ongoing.”

However, sources said there are concerns in government circles about the risk of cost overruns, not to mention the challenges caused by asking U.S. defence companies to hand classified information related to their weapons systems over to Irving, a third party, instead of directly to the government.

“There is a degree of nervousness” on the Irving side, said one industry source.

A spokeswoman for Irving said the company had no comment.

The commitment to tighten up defence procurement rules was included in the Liberal election campaign. The Liberals said they would ensure “all equipment acquisitions operate with vastly improved timelines and vigorous Parliamentary oversight.”

A concept design of the Canadian Surface Combatant from the CASR 

The Conservatives had originally planned to build 15 warships but federal officials acknowledged last year inflation and currency pressures could see that number reduced. In December, Vice Admiral Mark Norman, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, said the cost of the surface combatant ships could reach $30 billion.

During the election, Trudeau promised to set aside any savings from the CF-18 replacement program and invest them in the navy.

Canada to Seek Seat on Security Council

Written By: The Associated Press

Originally published February 11, 2016

Canada plans to make a bid for a seat on the UN Security Council, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday as he hosted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

At a news conference in Ottawa, Trudeau said he has indicated to Ban that Canada wants to “re-engage robustly” with the United Nations and the global community.

That includes “looking towards a bid for the UN Security Council," Trudeau said.

In 2010, Canada lost its bid for a two-year council term to Portugal, even though it held a seat at the table off and on for six decades. Critics blamed the historic loss on Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, saying that it failed to make a strong bid.

Paul Heinbecker, a former Canadian ambassador to the UN, said Canada’s frosty relationship with the organization dates back to 2006 when a Canadian peacekeeper was killed during the Israeli-Lebanese war.

“The loss of the Security Council seat, I think, was indicative that the contempt that the Canadian government was manifesting for the UN was being reciprocated by the UN members,” Heinbecker said on CTV’s Power Play Thursday.

“They preferred a bankrupt Portugal -- a country they knew was bankrupt -- to a solvent Canada,” he said.

Heinbecker said former prime minister Harper “basically snubbed” the UN multiple times by choosing to not show up to events.

“I think what we saw today with Ban Ki-Moon and Prime Minister Trudeau in their press conference was a much warmer relationship, a much more enthusiastic relationship.”

Ban said he welcomes Trudeau’s plan and called Canada “one of our most important partners.”

He credited Trudeau’s leadership with helping secure the “breakthrough” global agreement on climate change reached at the Paris summit in December.

Ban also “highly” applauded Canada’s ongoing efforts to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees.

Ban said he and Trudeau had a “very constructive exchange” Thursday on a number of issues that also included global security and Canada’s contribution to UN peacekeeping missions, which has fallen from around 3,300 troops in 1993 to just 113 today.

The UN chief also seemed to nudge Trudeau to boost Canada’s international aid spending for poorer nations.

“I’m sure that Prime Minister Trudeau and his government will pay more focus on this matter,” Ban said.

Both Ban and Trudeau expressed their outrage over recent allegations that UN peacekeepers sexually abused underage girls in the Central African Republic.

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Strikes 2 ISIS Targets

Even though Canadian CF-18s will be ending their bombing of ISIS targets wby February 22, 2016 - they have not let up in the final days of their deployment.

In a press release on its OP IMPACT webpage, DND announced that on 10 February 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS weapons cache in the vicinity of Al Habbaniyah using precision guided munitions.

Also on 10 February 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISISL fighting position north of Ramadi using precision guided munitions.

HMCS Fredericton Deployed to Aegean Sea

Written by: The Associated Press
Published Thursday, February 11, 2016

HMCS Fredericton will be among three ships that NATO has announced it will send to the Aegean Sea to monitor the ongoing refugee crisis and provide surveillance of criminal networks working in the waters.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the NATO Maritime Group is being ordered immediately into the Aegean to help end illegal smuggling of migrants between Turkey and Greece, a situation he called a "human tragedy.”

Three NATO allies -- Turkey, Germany and Greece -- had requested NATO's help in an international effort to end the most intense migration crisis Europe has experienced since the Second World War.

HMCS Fredericton is part of NATO Maritime Standing Group 2, a flotilla that also consists of German navy flagship The Bonn, and the Barbaros from Turkey.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the warships "will start to move now" to provide surveillance of criminal networks working in the sea. They will then relay the information to the Greek and Turkish coast guards and other authorities, Stoltenberg said.

"This is not about stopping or pushing back refugee boats," Stoltenberg stressed.

"…This is about helping Greece, Turkey and the European Union with stemming the flow of migrants and refugees and coping with a very demanding situation.”

The International Organization for Migration said earlier this week that 76,000 people have travelled across the sea since Jan. 1 in an effort to reach Europe by sea. That’s nearly 2,000 people a day.

.The group also estimates that 409 people have died so far this year trying to cross from Turkey to Greece and between north Africa and Italy.

U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter said NATO military authorities also will draw up plans for how the alliance could further act to help shut down illegal human smuggling in the region.

CAF and CCG Members Charged as a Result of Drug Investigation

Written by the Canadian Press 

February 10, 2016 

HALIFAX — Two former employees of the Canadian Coast Guard and the Department of National Defence are facing charges in Halifax following a drug investigation with ties to Colombian and Mexican drug cartels.

The RCMP allege the pair used their positions to gain access to information for criminal intent.

The police investigation, which started in the spring of 2013, uncovered evidence of conspiracies to import cocaine from Antigua, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana and the United States.

When the RCMP first announced the results of their investigation last year, they said multiple charges had been laid against people in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

The Mounties also confirmed that among those charged was Ryan James Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder who lives in Montreal.

The RCMP said they seized vehicles, firearms, drug paraphernalia, cash and more than 200 kilograms of cocaine.

In April 2015, 15 people were charged with 45 offences, including conspiracy to import cocaine and trafficking cocaine.

Additional charges were laid Tuesday against two of those accused, both of them from Nova Scotia.

Delbert William Meister of Halifax, a former employee of the Canadian Coast Guard, and Darlene Margaret Richards of Greenwood, N.S., who once worked with the Defence Department, have each been charged with breach of trust and possession of proceeds of crime.

The Canadian Press