Government Operations committee  Our audit focused on delivery times, on whether the ships would be delivered on time. At the time of the audit, almost no ships had been delivered. The process of confirming whether the new vessels had the expected capacities wasn't really possible for the vast majority of ships.

Government Operations committee  I would add two points. One is that we did see in the late 1990s and early 2000s the impact of a boom-and-bust cycle on shipbuilding, the cost it can incur and the time it can take to rebuild in order to meet the underlying policy statement, which is that government ships will be

Government Operations committee  I would say two things. One is that through looking at the idea that there's a need to maintain the workforce, clearly that workforce has been developed. The other aspect is about one of the economic benefits that was required by the shipbuilding strategy. This is not something w

Government Operations committee  That's basically because our comment was about the need for timely replacement of ships. Life extension was essential, but the real challenge is to make sure that the new ships arrive on time.

Government Operations committee  No, I don't have anything to add.

Government Operations committee  We have no additional information on what you're referring to. There are certainly some concerns about this project.

Government Operations committee  I can say two things about this report. First, in our National Shipbuilding Strategy report, we say that using experts to validate information in the development and procurement process is the right thing to do. That's what the Australians have done, and it's a model to follow.

Government Operations committee  I think we're talking about the fighter replacement project that was reset at the time, in the mid-2010s, and so we are now, as I understand it, at the point of assessing the last two competitors with a view to making a decision. It's been reported publicly, anyway, that the deci

Government Operations committee  I would make two comments. One is that our audit was looking at the timeliness of delivery, not directly at the cost. We didn't directly look at that issue. One of the other aspects with the AOPS is—

Government Operations committee  I would add that we look at the detailed action plan that was provided by the departments in the audit to the public accounts committee in response to our recommendation on schedules. It committed them, in particular, to introduce a tool called “earned value management” into thei

Government Operations committee  The 2013 report talks about the fact that there had been a long period when no government ships were built, so the shipbuilding industry had lost that capacity. There had also been some failed procurements, when the government had sought to run competitions for ships and either d

Government Operations committee  That's basically it. If the third yard is not put into operation, we would lack the capacity to produce ships before the old ones reach the end of their life.

Government Operations committee  Staff training and recruitment are not part of the national shipbuilding strategy. The Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard have a duty to transition to meet these needs.

Government Operations committee  I have no comment on this. We haven't done any analysis lately on how to recruit personnel for the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard.

Government Operations committee  There are two other points I would add. At the start of our period, some of the expected delivery dates for ships were clearly unrealistic, for instance, the oceanographic science vessel being delivered for October of 2021 when it hadn't started yet. Clearly, there was a need t