QUESTION PERIOD — Public Services and Procurement
Aircraft Procurement
June 8, 2023
My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Leader, the Government of Canada is preparing to replace 14 CP-140 Aurora aircraft, surveillance planes that are used by the Royal Canadian Air Force to patrol Canada’s coastlines.
Under the army’s procurement system, which is known for being ineffective, the Government of Canada seems to have decided or wants to grant this $9-billion contract directly to aerospace company Boeing, not to name names, rather than hold an open bidding process under which a Canadian consortium, Bombardier and General Dynamics, could make a bid and provide equivalent equipment.
That does not make any sense because usually the government would award a direct contract to favour a Canadian company, but in this case, it is awarding a direct contract that will negatively impact a Canadian company.
Can the Leader of the Government explain what this government is thinking?
The Government of Canada makes its decisions based on the needs of our Armed Forces and our priorities in that area. It will continue to make its decisions for the good of the communities served and Canada.
Speaking of making decisions to meet the needs of the Armed Forces, we learned this week that our troops deployed in Latvia are so under-equipped that they have to procure essential protective equipment themselves, using their own money.
This is despite the fact that the government doesn’t spend its entire procurement budget. In 2021, it left $1 billion on the table without spending it.
How can you explain to Canadian military personnel that they have to pay for protective equipment out of their own pockets, when their colleagues, especially the Danes, are better equipped, not to mention that the Danish government buys its equipment from Canada?
Obviously, our Armed Forces need to be equipped with whatever it takes to do their job of defending our country and our interests.
The government continues to invest more in the military. The facts you have outlined are most regrettable. I’m told that the Government of Canada will continue to support our Canadian Forces with the necessary funds in a prudent manner.
