The Revival of the National Defence

The Revival of the National Defence by Maj (ret’d) CORNELIU, CHISU, CD, PMSC FEC, CET, P.Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East The Government of Canada is moving towards to strengthening Canada’s National Defence. Ignored for decades by successive Liberal and Conservative governments, a positive decision has been made by the ruling Liberal Government. Whether prompted by international pressures or the necessity to protect our borders, Prime Minister Mark Carney has made a move to bolster our national defence. . However, the goal of hitting NATO's defence spending target of two per cent of gross domestic product this year will be an uphill battle. The Prime Minister has explicitly stated that part of the goal is to build up the Canadian defence industry, while acknowledging that continuing to do business with allies, including the United States, will remain necessary. An extra $8.7 billion is earmarked for defence spending by the Department of National Defence (DND) or other government departments, and $370 million for the Communications Security Establishment (CSE). Allies have been pushing Canada to meet NATO's goal for nearly 20 years — but actually doing so has become imperative with Donald Trump in the White House. The Prime Minister’s words and commitment are right, but he has got to crack the whip in short order. It will be necessary to bring about a complete and rapid change in the mentality and competence of National Defence procurement personnel. Government procurement officials will need to reverse a long-standing culture of risk aversion, deferring decisions and allowing billions of dollars in lapsed spending. During my career in the military engineers, I witnessed numerous examples of indecision and waste perpetrated by both civilian and military personnel who were responsible for infrastructure and procurement both domestically and internationally. During my tenure as an MP serving on the National Defence Committee I was appalled by indecisions regarding National Defence issues. For example, the contract for procurement of the F35s was left in limbo when the Government was able to make the decision to procure them. This indecision later cost Canadian taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, when after 10 years, the Trudeau Liberal government, rather than Harper’s Conservatives signed the contract. It is also interesting to find my former colleague on the defence committee, James Bezan, who is now the Conservative defence critic, declaring that it will be difficult for procurement officials in government to change their well-entrenched bureaucratic mentalities. Why didn’t our Conservative government at the time do anything to bring a change of this harmful mentality if it is so clear to him now? Our Conservative Government tolerated managing the procurement for the war in Afghanistan from Koblenz Germany for a long time, which I experienced first hand when deployed. It was faulty and cost taxpayers millions for wrong military hardware delivered and contracts with questionable and costly trading companies. I will refrain from talking about the waste incurred in the peace-keeping mission in Bosnia Herzegovina during my deployment there. Therefore, for Prime Minister Carney’s Government to be successful and timely it needs to move quickly for a complete overhaul of the Department of National Defence (DND), Public Service and Procurement Canada (PSPC). In situations that are truly time sensitive, the government can invoke a National Security Exception (NSE), Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) or issue an Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN). Although these have strict eligibility criteria and are not everyday tools. Though Prime Minister Carney outlined the general areas for increased investment on June 9, he gave no specifics. The list included better compensation; health care and infrastructure for personnel; new equipment such as aircraft, armed vehicles and ammunition; expanding the Canadian Coast Guard and moving it under DND; repairing and maintaining existing ships, aircraft and other assets; and developing new drones and sensors to monitor the sea floor and the Arctic. Now these plans he outlined must be put into practice quickly, particularly the spending that needs to be done at home. One way to spend faster would be to expand existing orders for armoured vehicles, ships and planes. For example, augmenting an existing contract for 360 light armoured vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems in London, Ont. A company spokesperson says it would be able to quickly respond to contract amendment requests. However, if the government intends to buy equipment not already on order or in the inventory, DND and PSPC have to change their approach quickly. The protracted procurement process must be streamlined, and it would be advisable to spend a good portion of that $9 billion on Canadian firms. It is also commendable that Canada and Europe have been drawn a little closer together as a result of Prime Minister Mark Carney signing a strategic defence and security partnership with the European Union. The agreement opens the door for Canadian companies to participate in the $1.25-trillion ReArm Europe program, which is seen as a step toward making Canada less reliant on — and less vulnerable to — the whims of the United States. Eventually, it will also help the Canadian government to partner with other allied nations to buy military equipment under what's known as the SAFE program. In conclusion, I definitively see positive signs that the Government of Canada is seriously looking to protect Canada. Let us hope that these plans will soon materialize, and they do so without major setbacks.