By Jeff G. Gilmore, 2 September 2021 During a time of promises related to the upcoming election, it is useful to look at the two major political parties to review their defence policies. The Conservative Party platform is a commitment to fast-track the replacement of the ageing CF-18s for the […]
Defence Procurement
83 posts
Procrustes, 10 March 2021 There is a potentially intriguing policy-making dynamic developing between the CSC and the Future Fighter (FF) projects. First, the FF will cost less than the CSC at an expected contract price of $15-$19 billion, and DND expects to award this contract in 2022. The CSC will […]
25 February 2021 Shortly after the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) released its report on the Canadian Surface Combatant, the Department of National Defence released its response. This quick response was no surprise since the PBO report was much anticipated. Among other things, DND says that “the key differences in our […]
Timothy Choi, 25 February 2021 On 24 February 2021, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released its report on the Canadian Surface Combatant's latest estimated costs, as well as several alternative options (FREMM and Type 31e) they were requested to examine by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and […]
Procrustes, 6 February 2021 As more details slowly emerge from the bowels of the Ottawa defence mandarinate about the rising costs and technological challenges of the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) project, one may be struck by the apparent parallels with some of the ambitious warship construction fiascoes south of the […]
Procrustes, 4 February 2021 All of a sudden, the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) is back in the news and there is chatter about the mounting costs of the proposed warship and what trade-offs might be made to deal with these costs. Why all the fuss now? The long-awaited cost update […]
Dan Middlemiss, 3 February 2021 Lee Berthiaume yesterday reported that the Department of National Defence (DND) now expects the first of the new Canadian Surface Combatants (CSC) will be delivered “years later than expected” as officials “grapple with unexpected design and construction challenges.”[1] The first ship is now expected to […]
Dr. Ann Griffiths, 2 February 2021 The Parliamentary Budget Officer is due to release a report on the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) project some time this month. The report is awaited with great fear and trepidation in some quarters. The PBO will examine both costs and alternative options to the […]
Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan received his Supplementary Mandate Letter from the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on January 15, 2021, which is available in full here: Minister of National Defence Supplementary Mandate Letter | Prime Minister of Canada (pm.gc.ca) While much of the letter is generic and common to […]
David Dunlop, 10 January 2021 Let us take a quick look at CSC frigate costs as of early 2021 and compare them to say, buying off-the-shelf. The CSC cost figures according to the Public Budget Office (PBO) are approximately $70B CAD for all 15 CSC frigates; that much we know. […]