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I dont think I saw this posted anywhere else so here it is. There was another news posting from the DIN last week indicating that the government is planning on spending 40 Billion on new ships over the next few decades but I cant find that one anymore.
Here is the link
http://media.mil.ca/showfile.asp?Lang=E&URL=/clips/national/090731/f02920MD.htm
Delivering billions of dollars in new ships for the navy and coast guard means more than flow charts and a shopping list, says the head of Senate defence committee.
The Conservative government must sign long-term contracts with shipyards and seek political consensus to ensure that projects, which stretch over decades, reach completion, said Liberal Senator Colin Kenny.
"I get no sense this is happening," Kenny said in an interview Thursday.
This week the federal government sponsored two days' of closed-door meetings with the shipbuilding industry and a handful of defence contractors. Bureaucrats outlined at least $40 billion worth of work for 50 major ships, with the projects lasting decades.
Laying out expectations is positive, but the current government cannot guarantee that its plans won't be modified or even cancelled by future administrations, Kenny warned.
The best way to avoid problems is to sign long-term deals with the builders and apportion the work by region, creating financial and political penalties for future Parliaments, he said.
The approach may not be politically palatable to free-market Tories but the industry is unique and vital to the country, Kenny said.
"We have to recognize that it is a strategic national interest."
The failure of two high-profile ship projects last year prompted the minority Conservative government to begin searching for a new way to approach to complex and time-consuming construction process.
National Defence and Fisheries and Oceans were forced to scrap and restart the building of three naval joint supply ships and coast guard mid-shore patrol boats when industry bids came in far above what the government had set aside.
Defence sources said this week's shipbuilding forum touched on the notion of long-term contracts, but it's unclear whether the federal government is prepared to go that far.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay has said repeatedly that he wants to get away from a boom-and-bust cycle which has seen governments order replacement and new vessels in batches.
Even so, the minister has not unequivocally stated support for a continuous building program such as Kenny is proposing.
The worry among federal bureaucrats and others is that long-term contracts are not in taxpayers' best interests because builders might abuse a near monopoly situation.
Kenney proposes that Ottawa create a shipbuilding regulator that would monitor contracts in much the same way utilities are regulated.
A spokesman for the Navy League of Canada said Britain recently developed a similar solution, where shipbuilding consortiums are required to open their books to government inspection and live within profit limits.
"We would see a lot of merit in that approach," said Jerrod Riley, the league's national deputy director
Here is the link
http://media.mil.ca/showfile.asp?Lang=E&URL=/clips/national/090731/f02920MD.htm
Delivering billions of dollars in new ships for the navy and coast guard means more than flow charts and a shopping list, says the head of Senate defence committee.
The Conservative government must sign long-term contracts with shipyards and seek political consensus to ensure that projects, which stretch over decades, reach completion, said Liberal Senator Colin Kenny.
"I get no sense this is happening," Kenny said in an interview Thursday.
This week the federal government sponsored two days' of closed-door meetings with the shipbuilding industry and a handful of defence contractors. Bureaucrats outlined at least $40 billion worth of work for 50 major ships, with the projects lasting decades.
Laying out expectations is positive, but the current government cannot guarantee that its plans won't be modified or even cancelled by future administrations, Kenny warned.
The best way to avoid problems is to sign long-term deals with the builders and apportion the work by region, creating financial and political penalties for future Parliaments, he said.
The approach may not be politically palatable to free-market Tories but the industry is unique and vital to the country, Kenny said.
"We have to recognize that it is a strategic national interest."
The failure of two high-profile ship projects last year prompted the minority Conservative government to begin searching for a new way to approach to complex and time-consuming construction process.
National Defence and Fisheries and Oceans were forced to scrap and restart the building of three naval joint supply ships and coast guard mid-shore patrol boats when industry bids came in far above what the government had set aside.
Defence sources said this week's shipbuilding forum touched on the notion of long-term contracts, but it's unclear whether the federal government is prepared to go that far.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay has said repeatedly that he wants to get away from a boom-and-bust cycle which has seen governments order replacement and new vessels in batches.
Even so, the minister has not unequivocally stated support for a continuous building program such as Kenny is proposing.
The worry among federal bureaucrats and others is that long-term contracts are not in taxpayers' best interests because builders might abuse a near monopoly situation.
Kenney proposes that Ottawa create a shipbuilding regulator that would monitor contracts in much the same way utilities are regulated.
A spokesman for the Navy League of Canada said Britain recently developed a similar solution, where shipbuilding consortiums are required to open their books to government inspection and live within profit limits.
"We would see a lot of merit in that approach," said Jerrod Riley, the league's national deputy director
