Government Operations committee  We're aware of the assessment. Obviously, the budget for the entire project is with National Defence and their chief financial officer. They also have their own calculations, which they use. In reality, if you look at the size of the contracts and the size of the project—in the

Government Operations committee  It's in the—

Government Operations committee  As you may have heard, we identified a preferred bidder in October. We are in the final throes of the negotiations, a phase that we call a “conditions precedent” phase, in which we look at intellectual property, capability.... If everything goes well, we are expecting to award th

Government Operations committee  It will be in the early 2020s.

Government Operations committee  After a few years of the design phase, in the early 2020s we expect to cut steel, with the first deliveries—

Government Operations committee  As the first step, once we have awarded the contract with the ship designer, we will obviously plan the next few years of work of design. Once we have these first engagements, with the actual contract awarded, we will be able to refine the schedule. We're expecting two to three

Government Operations committee  I would say so.

Government Operations committee  What is also important to note is that when we do the procurement for large defence contracts, we invoke what we call industrial and technological benefits, which require suppliers to invest the equivalent amount of the contract into Canadian industry, so that we see a lot of wor

Government Operations committee  Yes, SSE, “Strong, Secure, Engaged”, is a challenge for all departments involved. We are working on some improvements to streamline defence procurement. One of the significant initiatives we have undertaken is to move, for example, authorities for ministers and departments to awa

Government Operations committee  We're aware of that, and—

Government Operations committee  No, he is presenting facts as they are, and—

Government Operations committee  Let me add that the premise for the national shipbuilding strategy was to give the shipyards involved in large ship construction a program of work over several decades, so that they could actually make the investments, become world-class, and then deliver ships under it. Part o

Government Operations committee  The NSS program is constantly.... I would say that this is the kind of conversation we have every day about how we deliver the ships that are part of the program. I think it's fair to say that in the last eight years, since the program was announced and the contracts were awarde

Government Operations committee  What I was saying is that under the national shipbuilding strategy approved eight years ago, in 2010, contracts have been awarded to the tune of about $8.8 billion since then. I talked specifically about the estimation of costs and schedules that took place in preparation for the

Government Operations committee  I think you can never say never in this business. When we talk about the complexity and size of a project such as the Canadian surface combatant project, I don't think that anyone I've ever met, working internationally or in Canada, can actually predict all of the risks that will