Spend $ 9 billion in the defense by April, Mission Impossible?

The objective set by Prime Minister Mark Carney to reach the NATO military expenditure target by 2 % by April makes the opposition and experts, who doubts it is doable in such a short time and in the rules.

Mark Carney announced additional expenses of nearly $ 9.3 billion, including investments in the Canadian armed forces and new equipment on June 9.3 billion.

The allies urged Canada to achieve the goal of theTake For almost 20 years, but he seems to have become imperative with the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House.

Mark Carney clarified that he provided for the purchase of planes, vehicles and ammunition; the expansion of the Canadian Coast Guard and its transfer under the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense; The repair and maintenance of ships, planes and other existing assets as well as the development of new drones and sensors to monitor the seabed and the Arctic.

By the time we return to Parliament and that the budget is adopted, we will have six months to spend this sumworried the conservative and criticism of defense, James Bezan, in an interview with CBC News.

According to him, it will not be an easy task, because it will be necessary to reverse culture within the government, which tends to fear the risk, to postpone decisions and to allow billions of dollars to expenditure does not serve.

The government could also be tempted to make Creative accounting To achieve, on paper, the objectives of theTakewarns Mr. Bezan.

But mechanisms could make it possible to get there, underline players from the Canadian Defense industry as well as the Ministry of Defense and Public Services and supply Canada.

The use of offers to order, supply agreements and lists of prequalified suppliers, as well as strategic partnerships with recognized defense companies as centers of excellence could, among other things, be used.

Bilateral partnerships with other countries and the American military sales program abroad are also studied.

National emergency?

In urgent situations, the government can also invoke a national security exception, an urgent operational need or issue a notice of contract auction. However, these measures have strict criteria for use.

If the government can show us that this is in the interest of national security and that the offer is limited due to a competitive factor, we would be open to this type of supply said Mr. Bezan. But we cannot get into the habit of using these measures as a means of obtaining the equipment we need for the Canadian Armed Forces.

Increased expenditure will mainly concern articles already identified or some which are pending in the supply process, or projects which have not received sufficient financing said Christyn Cianfarani, president of the Canadian Association of Defense and Security Industries.

To accelerate spending, the government could notably improve the existing orders for armored vehicles, ships and planes.

A good part of these $ 9 billion could probably be spent from Canadian companiesbelieves Ms. Cianfarani.

For example, Ottawa could increase the existing contract for 360 light armored vehicles of General Dynamics Land Systems In London, Ontario. A company spokesperson ensures that it would be able to quickly respond to requests for modification of the contract.

If the government intends to buy equipment that has not already been ordered, it will have to change his approach, says Ms. Cianfarani.

Winners of tenders known in advance

But the main source of doubts about these new expenses is the supply process. Ms. Cianfarani, believes that he should not be so long that it is currently and that it should be really competitive.

Several players have deplored that calls for tenders in this area are only an administrative formality where the winner is known in advance.

Ms. Cianfarani explained that it is frustrating for companies to spend millions for a submission for which they had never had a real chance.

She added that it would be better to use more often to targeted public procurement as is the case in other countries, where the government knows what it wants to invest in – and which are the best suppliers – and then chooses them.

James Bezan warned that in this urgency to spend, an increased risk of waste and bad supervision emerges. Wanting to go to 2 %, then even more in the future, that does not mean that we give carte blanche to spend money on all wind.

Defense industry players say they also want to ensure good value for money.

We must think about the impact of this money on the Canadian economic situationsaid Chris Pogue, former pilot of the Royal Canadian aviation and today president of Calian Defence and Space.

These new expenses could be part of the Governments’ desire to diversify their markets inside and outside Canada, to cope with the trade war with the United States.

Prime Minister François Legault, in particular, hopes that these expenses will benefit Quebec companies, especially in the field of aeronautics and the exploitation of critical minerals.

I do not think that we should let the urgency take precedence over smart purchases, but things can evolve quickly if we have a clear idea of the management we want to take and the type of capacity we need concludes Mr. Pogue.

After A text by Karina Roman (new window)de CBC News