QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Coast Guard Procurement
June 4, 2024
Welcome here, minister.
Minister, the costs have gone up for each of the much-needed procurements for the Canadian Coast Guard. For example, in January, your department confirmed that the budget for two offshore patrol ships had jumped by half a billion dollars in just one year. As well, the estimated budget for one offshore science vessel is $1 billion over its original budget. Quite frankly, I think this is an embarrassment and is an horrendous mismanagement on the part of your and Prime Minister Trudeau’s government. Minister, what involvement, if any, do you have in the oversight of these projects?
I think the Coast Guard is in a position to have the equipment it needs to allow us to meet the challenges we’re facing. Canada works very closely with the United States. We must have the equipment required to protect our oceans. Canada is surrounded by three oceans. The work is being done, which means that Canada now has suitable equipment with new equipment and ships. We’re now seeing hybrid ships, and new technologies mean that costs have gone up. My priority, and that of the Coast Guard, is to protect our fishers, as well as our borders.
I’m assuming that if we were surrounded by four oceans, the costs would have gone up even more. You didn’t answer my question, minister. The Trudeau government has lost control of these procurements, and no one in the cabinet seems to care. All the while, the Canadian Coast Guard waits for necessary ships, and the cost to taxpayers goes up. Your government still has no project budget for new ice breakers. The Parliamentary Budget Officer, or PBO, estimates that it will cost more than $7 billion. If the PBO can provide an estimate, why is your government incapable of doing so?
As I was saying, we need equipment that will enable us to respond to the challenges ahead. We need equipment, ships and icebreakers in the Arctic. We’re seeing it with electronics and hybrid ships. New technologies are driving up costs, but we’re staying on budget and making sure that the Coast Guard has the equipment it needs to do a job that is important to Canada.
