National Defence committee  Recognizing the time, I would point out that Martin Hill talked extensively about the idea that there needs to be, in our capital, that kind of close relationship. I think this issue starts at home for us. I believe there is a willingness, in light of Minister Sajjan's statements

National Defence committee  There has not been as much participation in the studies of NIAG as I would like to have seen over those 200 studies. We've talked a little bit about why that has happened. As we move forward, I hope that we will be able to do that. It is, I think, exceptionally challenging also

National Defence committee  An issue that has long been advocated is the addressing of military specifications. This is not an industry issue. It is a government issue. I was listening yesterday to someone talk about the 8,500 mandatory requirements in a recent procurement. I have, from my previous life,

National Defence committee  I'll say a couple of things on that. First of all, I think Martin just told you the answer to a lot of that. The position taken by other nations may sometimes not be in line with approved practice. As Martin said, other countries do that. As well, I think on the cultural side

National Defence committee  I think it's very hard to tell what the statistics really are in our environment. I absolutely know of contracts that were awarded to Canadian companies through a European subsidiary. Martin Hill said earlier that there is no access to subcontracting data, so I am reluctant to sa

National Defence committee  A few years ago, the Department of National Defence issued a report by one of their science and technology committees on the issue of technical insertion and how that might be more effectively conducted within the context of long-term, high-technology contracts, and the challenge

National Defence committee  I think the primary advantage I see right now is the shift in political focus for commitment to NATO and the minister's statement on the 20th that support for NATO was ironclad. I was exceptionally pleased to see that, and I look forward to exploiting that all I can. Thank you.

National Defence committee  Well, I'm not here as a representative of CADSI. I will, however, say that a membership of about $400 per year is not exorbitant, I don't think, for even a small company, because the small companies pay only that much. Second, I think we need to recognize that for a small compan

National Defence committee  NCIA focuses more on communications and informatics projects. Their projects tend to be very large. Some Canadian companies are capable of doing that, and some of them have been very successful—CGI and MDA, for instance. However, Canada produces an exceptionally broad range of go

National Defence committee  I think the issue is exactly the same within the Canadian environment itself, and I don't think the Canadian environment has identified a real solution to this problem either. If we manage to find a solution within the Canadian environment, my best advice would be to share that w

National Defence committee  I think the recent changes in policy with regard to defence procurement and the procurement strategies have moved us closer to what I was seeking in that article. Could we get closer to it? Absolutely we could. But just like everything else I've talked about, it is getting better

National Defence committee  No, I think it's a cultural issue. I think the Canadian procurement system—I'm digressing for a moment, I'm sorry—with things like the agreement on internal trade, which highly regulates what we can do within Canada, presents a certain challenge in this regard. There is no doubt

National Defence committee  The NATEX provides information on what's being done within a specific agency. Canada has one and a half NATEX—one in Capellen at the NATO supply and procurement agency, and the half in Brussels headquarters supporting the NCIA. Tell me again the rest of the pop quiz.

National Defence committee  If we go back 10 years, the systems were not so automated and were not so open. Both NCIA and NSPA publish their requirements. Both use automated systems. If you're a registered supplier, you have the opportunity to bid on requirements in a much more timely manner. But please do

National Defence committee  Absolutely. Martin Hill just a few moments ago made reference to the issue of how to keep it up to date. Even if what you got was what you wanted at that time, how do you deal with the issue of technical insertion?