Evidence of meeting #31 for National Defence in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was terms.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:15 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Good.
The last time the industry was involved in major build-outs would have been in the late eighties to late nineties, with the frigates in the Kingston class, I believe.
12:15 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
In terms of the ships?
12:15 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
From the design point?
12:15 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
Yes, although throughout the last number of years there have been major mid-life updates on a Halifax class modernization program, right?
12:15 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Yes.
What would you say were the lessons learned from that major shipbuilding experience in that decade? How have those been implemented into the way that the industry operates today?
12:15 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
It's hard for me to talk about that. I have limited expertise in what that decade would have brought in terms of building the ships. I have more expertise in understanding what the recent generation of modernization of those Halifax class ships brought.
12:15 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
I'm trying to get a sense of how the industry is learning from its experiences and how that's impacting what they're doing today.
12:15 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
Well, the industry didn't go away. It's been operating and taking into consideration those experiences from the sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties all the way to today. Also, it doesn't exclusively do only marine sector activities. Many of the things that the industry is doing are tasks on the order of systems integration and sensor integration. There hasn't been a start and a stop to have necessarily a big moment of lessons learned. If you're talking about the shipyards themselves, I think the shipyards have had to have a massive rebirth, a massive redevelopment.
12:15 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
The Halifax Irving shipyard has gone from very little to what you'd call world class now. It's one of the most well-developed shipyards in the world. They've had to learn from the Brits, the Australians, and the rest of the world how to run a major shipyard. To my understanding, they've imported that transfer of knowledge into the shipyard in order to be able to create the world-class facility they have today.
Seaspan has what we'll call its American brother or sister, and it has brought that expertise into Canada as well to grow the commercial side or the non-combat vessels.
12:15 p.m.
Liberal
12:15 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
Yes, I did.
12:15 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
I'm glad to hear that you lived in the best riding in the country.
12:15 p.m.
An hon. member
Where is it?
12:15 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
12:15 p.m.
Conservative
12:20 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
I'm sorry, but there's a problem with the simultaneous interpretation.
12:20 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Thank you, Ms. Cianfarani, for being with us today.
I'm going to talk to you about what I call the infernal acquisitions cycle.
I believe you're having a problem with the simultaneous interpretation.
12:20 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
Could you please repeat the question? I can only hear the French, not the interpretation.
12:20 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
You're hearing the French, but not the simultaneous interpretation. Is that right?
12:20 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
It's okay; it's fixed.
12:20 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Ms. Cianfarani, I would like to talk to you about what I call the infernal cycle of acquisitions and procurement.
This cycle currently has three components. There is the user, so the Canadian Forces or the Coast Guard, the industry and the government, namely, the political sector. Has the national shipbuilding strategy greatly improved this cycle? Do you think there's been an enormous change in the industry? That's my first question.
As for my second question, could you please discuss the procurement cycle for the aerospace industry, specifically as it refers to jets. There currently isn't a strategy like there is for shipbuilding with the user, the industry and the government. Are there currently a lot of concerns within the industry about this?
