DND ditched years of research new plane plan

OTTAWA - National Defence was forced to throw over six years' worth of research and planning for its desperately-needed search and rescue plane out the window when the Harper government elected to take a different procurement approach.

A briefing note prepared for the former associate defence minister, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, spells out in detail how the project, which has been grinding its way through the defence bureaucracy since 2004, was being further sidelined.

Buying Canadian will short-change military, defence officials warn

OTTAWA — A struggle is quietly raging behind the scenes as the needs of Canada’s military smack up against the Conservative government’s desire to turn billions of dollars in planned defence spending into jobs and economic benefits.

Then-defence minister Peter MacKay was warned in a briefing note last November that a policy of always buying military equipment and services from Canadian companies would likely short-change Canada’s men and women in uniform.

Memos point to procurement meddling

OTTAWA — Conservative cabinet ministers kept an unusually close watch on the bidding process for the controversial 2009 relocation contract that critics say could leave them open to accusations of political meddling.

A series of internal memos show the cabinet operations committee had presentations and a “series of biweekly status reports” on the procurement process after the tender call was issued.

Passing the buck on search-and-rescue

Nobody likes a buck-passer. But that’s what Defence Minister Peter MacKay resembled last week, when asked about the seven-year delay in replacing Canada’s ancient fleet of fixed-wing search-and-rescue aircraft.

“I will express to you … no small degree of frustration that we have not been able to move this project forward,” MacKay told a press conference. “Not unlike the Sea Kings, we have aging Buffalo aircraft that need to be replaced, that are difficult to get parts for, that require a high proportion of service hours for every hour of flight.”

Army trucks project cancelled after DND added $300 million to price tag without permission

The Conservative government shut down a project to buy new army trucks because the Defence Department tried to spend more than $300 million without permission, government, military and industry officials have told the Citizen.

The Defence Department had received government approval in 2009 to move forward with the $430 million purchase of 1,500 off-the-shelf medium-sized trucks. But in subsequent years department and military officials began adding more capabilities to what they wanted in the vehicles, bumping the estimated cost to between $730 million and $800 million.

MacKay advised to get a good deal on jets

Martin fires back after procurement criticism

Former prime minister Paul Martin is telling Defence Minister Peter MacKay to quit playing the blame game when it comes to botched procurements.

At a stop in Halifax Thursday to promote the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative at a Canadian Teachers’ Federation conference at the Marriott Harbourfront Hotel, Martin said MacKay should deal with his own problems instead of trying to unload them onto others.

One day earlier, MacKay called the contract for the CH-148 Cyclone helicopters “the worst procurement in the history of Canada.”

Cyclone Helicopter Deal: Peter MacKay, Defence Minister, Says 'Worst' Deal In Canada's History

HALIFAX - Defence Minister Peter MacKay says the much-delayed deal to buy a fleet of new helicopters for the air force represents the "worst procurement" in Canada's history.

Last month, Sikorsky International Operations missed another deadline to begin delivering the first batch of 28 CH-148 Cyclones.