Government Operations Committee on May 11th, 2017

[Les Linklater, Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Public Works and Government Services]

Absolutely. Thank you for the question. It's a pleasure being here this morning.

We have worked very closely and continue to work with our colleagues from ISED and DND on this project. Clearly, we will need to see the results of the defence policy review so that we can move forward with engagement with the supplier community and with allied governments on this project. We've set up very extensive governance at the deputy level and at the assistant deputy minister level to ensure that all the departments that have a role to play—DND as the client, and ISED and PSPC as the service providers—are able to support an open and fair competition.

As Madam Lemay stated, respect for the ITB policy is very high on the priority list for ministers. We are working with ISED, in particular, through our broader approach to how we will maximize those benefits. For further detail, I would ask my colleague Lisa Campbell to carry on.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Good morning, Ms. Campbell.

Can you also talk to us about small and medium-sized businesses? I am especially interested in that topic.

What kind of access do small and medium-sized businesses have to service offerings?

[Lisa Campbell, Assistant Deputy Minister, Marine and Defence Procurement, Department of Public Works and Government Services]

That is an excellent question.

As Deputy Minister Lemay said, this is a very important purchase for the government and for Canada's aerospace industry. Once we know what the fleet's size is, our goal is to consult industry stakeholders, both internationally and domestically, here in Canada, to find out how they can participate in the maintenance and support of the Canadian fleet. That consultation is a very important aspect for us because it helps us understand how to maximize benefits for industries.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

How can we ensure that they all have access to the offers? Can you elaborate? What is the level of transparency? How can people find out about the offers? How can they be integrated into the supply chain?

[Lisa Campbell]

We engage directly with prime suppliers, but we also engage with the entire supply chain. We do one-on-one consultations with small and medium-sized businesses. We have over 3,000 contacts with them each year. We have a dedicated office, the office of small and medium enterprises, that helps ensure that Canadian businesses in Canada have access to our procurements.

There are also process adjustments that we can do, such as ensuring their non-exclusive bidding arrangements. In other words, SMEs can be part of several teams in a procurement, and that allows them to maximize what they have to offer and maximize the chances of their being successful.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Okay, thank you.

Again, I'd like to get back to this idea about openness and transparency. Madam Lemay, can you talk about how the government is keeping Canadians informed about our progress on various procurement projects, not only the fighter jet replacement but also the shipbuilding strategy?

[Marie Lemay]

I'll let Les take this one.

[Les Linklater]

Absolutely. If you have the opportunity, I would encourage you to look at the PSPC website, which has very detailed information around the major procurements that are under way. That would include the marine, the land, and the air domains, with extensive information on where each project is in terms of contracting and engagement. There's a very extensive section on the website around project-specific engagement opportunities across the board.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Okay. Thank you very much.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

You have one and a half minutes. If you want, you can pass the time over to Mr. Whalen.

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I'm also very interested, of course, in maritime search and rescue because, coming from Newfoundland and Labrador, it's of great concern to people in our area of the woods. We are really glad to be finally in a position to deliver on the fixed-wing search and rescue capability of the Canadian Armed Forces. I would hope that the deputy minister or perhaps Madam Campbell could provide us some information on where we are with the status of the award of the fixed-wing search and rescue contract and how the industrial benefits of this contract will help Canadian enterprises grow their own capacity.

Thank you.

[Marie Lemay]

Thank you for question.

[Lisa Campbell]

The government's proud to have awarded the competitive best-value contract that's going to provide a new fleet of modern and effective sensor-equipped aircraft that meets the Royal Canadian Air Force's needs. The contract is valued at $2.4 billion. It will deliver 16 C-295 fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft, a support system, and five years of maintenance and support across four main operating bases in Canada: Comox, B.C.; Winnipeg; Trenton; and Greenwood, Nova Scotia.

If Canada chooses to exercise all of the maintenance and support options, the contract value would increase to $4.7 billion. This contract maximizes the participation of Canadian industry, and Canadian companies are going to perform a significant portion of the in-service support work.

I'm proud of the way this procurement was done as well. We are facing some legal challenges, so I won't speak to those. Those matters are before the courts.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Thank you very much.

We now go to the five-minute round with Mr. Clarke.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It's nice to hear Mr. Christopherson's response. I think he did a great job of expressing the frustration that, out of politeness, we sometimes have difficulty sharing.

Ms. Lemay, I would like to put a few questions to you about Phoenix.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

On a point of order, is my honourable friend suggesting that I was impolite?

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

No, not at all.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Oh, thank you.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

I'm really sorry.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

It's all good.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

It was a good comment.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

We pride ourselves on being tough in Hamilton, but we are polite.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

No, you're right.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Mr. Christopherson, you're eating into his time.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

I hope not, Madam Chair.

Ms. Lemay, I agree that the software is not at the source of the problem in this whole business. It's rather a matter of structure.

You said that 700 positions in pay services were cut in 2014. I met a senior official from pay services—I won't say anything more to maintain their anonymity—and this person told me that, between February and April 2016, 250 pay services employees were fired. That was during the period when pay issues related to Phoenix began to arise.

How do you explain that?