Ottawa Creates Crown Corporation to Clear Defence Procurement Backlog, Will First Need to Procure Itself
Ottawa has found the cause of its slow defence procurement. The problem, officials have concluded, is that there are not enough government bodies involved.
The fix is a new Crown corporation built to cut through a system made up of Public Services and Procurement Canada, National Defence, Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Treasury Board, and a filing cabinet in Gatineau that is believed to still contain the original paperwork for the Sea King replacement.
Before it can buy a single submarine, the new corporation has some shopping of its own to do. It needs a board of directors, which needs a selection committee, which needs terms of reference, which need a consultation period. It needs a bilingual name short enough to fit on a lanyard. It needs an office lease, and nobody can sign that until the corporation exists, which happens once the office is ready.
Senior officials stress that the new body will be "nimble." A nimbleness framework is in development.
Defence analysts point out that Canada has done this kind of thing before. The method is to identify a delay, set up a body to study the delay, and then explain later delays as part of the delay study. Each of these programmes has kept to its own timeline perfectly, because that timeline is "ongoing."
The government says the corporation will be fully operational within 24 months, which would make it the fastest thing Canada has bought for its military since the Second World War.
The corporation's first purchase request has already gone out: 140 ergonomic office chairs. The tender is expected to close in spring. One bidder has raised concerns, so the request will probably be reissued.