Canada to accelerate delivery of Canadian Surface Combatant vessels
The Honourable Judy M. Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, and the Honourable John McKay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, representing the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, today announced a streamlined and transparent procurement approach to deliver the Canadian Surface Combatant to the Royal Canadian Navy up to two years sooner than originally planned, the official website of Government of Canada said.
The refined procurement approach will allow Canada to competitively and transparently select an existing warship design to modify, rather than continuing with the previous approach of selecting a Warship Designer and a Combat Systems Integrator to custom design the Canadian Surface Combatant.
The government used input from industry and Steve Brunton, its shipbuilding expert advisor, to develop the streamlined procurement approach. Canada will continue to work closely with the industry and remains committed to generating middle-class jobs, economic benefits and industrial growth for the country through the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
“The Canadian Surface Combatant project is the most complex procurement in Canadian history. Along with the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships project, it will create 2,400 direct shipbuilding jobs in Halifax. We continue to seek opportunities to deliver ships as quickly as possible and to ensure that this and other ship construction projects provide middle-class jobs and prosperity to hardworking Canadians. This streamlined approach is aligned with our efforts to modernize procurement and to make it easier for Canadian businesses to work with government,” Minister of Public Services and Procurement Judy M. Foote was quoted as saying.
- The Canadian Surface Combatant project will replace Canada’s aging destroyers and frigates. Ship construction is scheduled to commence after the completion of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships in the early 2020s and the procurement is expected to span 20 to 25 years.
- The Canadian Surface Combatants will be the major surface component of maritime combat power for Canada. The inherent warfare capability and versatility of the fleet, either independently or as part of a Canadian or coalition task group, will allow it to rapidly deploy worldwide on short notice.
- As part of the government priority to modernize procurement practices, Public Services and Procurement Canada is streamlining its practices to make them faster and easier for government departments to buy, and for suppliers to sell.
