February aircraft follies

Any House of Commons' committee hearings on the aircraft procurements for the Air Force will be a massive [see "the madness" at following link] partisan joke (even largely by the Conservatives). These hearings will contribute little or nothing to the public's understanding of what planes are needed (and are available) to perform which missions. For our MPs' pathetic performance on military matters, see these posts by Babbling Brooks, here, here, here, and here.

Opposition parties will start probing $14-billion in "de facto sole-sourced" military contracts next month, arguing the interests of taxpayers are at risk as the Canadian Forces acquire new planes and helicopters with minimal competitions...

The committee's decision to investigate procurement issues was prompted by Ottawa's decision to buy $11-billion worth of aircraft last year. In each of the cases then, only the winning bids were considered as they were the only products that met the specifications of the Canadian Forces.

"We can't have the Department of National Defence making up grocery lists and then letting us pick up the tab," Bloc Québécois MP Claude Bachand said in an interview yesterday.

Mr. Bachand said the committee's resolve was increased by a report in yesterday's Globe and Mail, which said that once again only one aircraft met the current requirements for a planned purchase of 15 to 19 search-and-rescue planes...

DND is negotiating the contract with Boeing Co. to acquire C-17 cargo jets and Chinook heavy-lift helicopters at a total cost of $6-billion, and with Lockheed Martin for the purchase of C-130J transport planes at a cost of $5-billion.

DND is also planning to acquire new search-and-rescue aircraft at a cost of $3-billion, but Ms. Black [NDP National Defence critic] denounced the fact that only one aircraft -- the Italian-built Spartan C-27J -- seems to be in the running...

Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said the current process is flawed, with too much power in the hands of the military and a lack of civilian oversight.

"These are essentially de facto sole-sourced contracts, masquerading as competitions," he said...

Meanwhile, that ace observer of things military, Globe columnist Lawrence Martin, credulously gives us this quote:

"Mr. Martin wouldn't accept sole-sourcing on contracts," said Eugene Lang, who served as chief of staff to Liberal defence ministers John McCallum and Bill Graham. "He was adamant. I remember him saying to us, 'I'm not going to let the military determine how we buy things. There are broader issues at play here.' "..

Mr Martin (Globe version) has forgotten, or chosen to overlook, that in December, 2005, the Conservatives were criticizing those Liberals in government for planning to sole-source the purchase of C-130Js.

...it's up in the air whether the Tories will go for 16 mid-range transport planes worth nearly $5 billion, as the Liberals announced Nov. 22, or opt for fewer of those supplemented by larger, heavy-lift aircraft capable of transporting troops and equipment over vast distances...

[Gordon] O'Connor [then Conservative National Defence critic] said he strongly supports streamlined military procurement practices, but he says the Liberal method will hurt competition and favour certain products - Lockheed Martin's C-130J transport plane [emphasis added], for example.

Prime Minister Paul Martin has said getting what the military needs takes precedence over regional and industrial benefits...

Liberals and Conservatives sometimes seem like pots and kettles, with the NDP calling Black. But at least in office the Conservatives are really trying to do as best they can for the Canadian Forces.