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 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.
Background:
The Government of Canada recently endorsed a streamlined procurement approach for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC), simplifying the procurement process so construction can start sooner and can deliver ships up to two years faster.
This new approach stems from a review of the Royal Canadian Navy’s requirements that identified an opportunity to simplify procurement and design efforts, while maintaining all project objectives.
The review, conducted over summer and fall 2015, identified requirements that correspond more closely to existing warships. Rather than continuing with the previous approach, which consisted of selecting a Warship Designer and a Combat Systems Integrator to work together to custom design the CSC, the newly endorsed approach allows Canada to select and modify an existing warship design through a single competitive process.
A Request for Proposals to select a ship design will be released in summer 2016. While the opportunity for firms to pre-qualify will be reopened, the 12 firms that have already pre-qualified will not be required to reapply.
The government remains committed to leveraging economic benefits from shipbuilding by creating opportunities for Canadian content to be included in the vessels, while generating high-value investments in the marine and other sectors of Canada’s economy. The CSC procurement approach will create middle-class jobs for Canadians and opportunities for companies in Canada to showcase their world-class technologies and position themselves for further growth in global markets.
The National Shipbuilding Strategy’s long-term plan to renew the fleets of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard is a priority for the government. Canada has selected two centres of excellence, Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to build its large combat vessels and Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards in Vancouver, British Columbia, to build its large non-combat vessels.