By the Canal: Bray’s Blog

Stay tuned for insights and information from the trade show floor and exhibition site.

Postscript
When the "we really are going to buy ships and lots of them" federal government announcement was finally made at CANSEC, mid-day through the second and final day, there were still plenty of questions but not many answers. Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose and Defence Minister Peter MacKay said lots of the right words - breaking the "boom and bust" cycle, getting the ships built in a cost-efficient way, involving and supporting Canadian industry - and the reality is that the process is in place to make all that happen. First, there was the report of the Marine Industry working group that laid out a good basis for military, industry and government cooperation in ship-building, followed by the report of the military procurement consultations that showed how to rationalize a process that everybody knows needs fixing. So, however short the big announcement fell on specifics, there is a clear direction and plenty of good will available to get the next wave of shipbuilding right.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin was prepared to welcome Minister MacKay down in Georgia and put him on the first Canadian 'J' model Hercules that flies in to Trenton on Friday, but that was knocked off course by the shipbuilding announcement delay. That meant he and Minister Ambrose had to make other arrangements to be in Trenton to greet the aircraft. That, of course, is no big challenge for the Challenger.

DAY 2
The big buzz at CANSEC day one - a big shipbuilding announcement for Thursday morning - turned into a longer wait on CANSEC day two, as CADSI president Tim Page took the podium to announce that Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay would not be present to deliver his morning keynote speech - which pushed back any announcement to later in the day. With a new ETA of 1315, the rescheduled announcement coincides with a sold-out lunch session, which means that many VIV's (Very Interested Vendors) will be jostling for elbow room at the back of the hall.

During the morning, VIV's and others tried to see just how low they could set the expectation level for a ship-building announcement. After all, the government has yet to respond in any substantive way to the results of a CADSI-managed consultations process that presented some recommendations that could have a big impact on any ship procurement. So, what could four ministers - count 'em, four! - be set to deliver? A reaffirmation of the national commitment to build ships here? A decision to put a shipbuilding centre of excellence on the prairies? Again, stay tuned.


Tap, tap, tappin' on the TAPV window of opportunity. At this year's defence show, many companies are very much still in the hunt. Last year, they were, many of them, trying to get close to the Close Combat Vehicle. New year, new flavour, and the TAPV has attracted a lot of companies to display 'product' at the CANSEC outdoor show. At this early stage, the financial commitment is still pretty low, and the upside still looks good. Some vendors say they like the level of detail in what the government is saying about what it needs. But they also expect the real RFP process to create a much shorter list of contenders.

Day 1
In the run-up to CANSEC this year, there was a media fuss about the directive that went out from the highest levels of National Defence Headquarters to the rank and file, authorizing the consumption of a complementary meal or beverage - just this once - during the course of the event. At the opening breakfast of CANSEC, the highest level of the Canadian military, Gen. Walt Natynczyk satirized the fuss by offering the crowd the alternative of their choice of ration packs - weiners and beans or omelette with mushroom sauce, in case the luxury of a catered breakfast might turn their heads.

In his keynote speech, Gen. Natynczyk noted that the duties of the Canadian Forces have expanded in recent years, such that "The sun never sets on the Canadian Forces," and that the recruiting shortfall of a few years ago has been reversed. Today, he said, having 12,000 people in the training pipeline "is a nice problem to have." Talking about procurement issues, Gen. Natynczyk said, "The hardest part is buying ships, because you have to build them." When word circulated through the CANSEC crowd that there would be a major announcement at ten Thursday morning - four Cabinet ministers in attendance, count 'em, four! - many people wondered if the news might be shipbuilding. Stay tuned.

Meantime, people tried to keep cool as indoor temperatures soared in all the Lansdowne Park venues, even at ice level in the main building where the Ottawa 67's play hockey. There was very little complaining and a lot of bottled water consumption, as most people understood that the previous CANSEC location is not available. The Ottawa Congress Centre, steps away from NDHQ, is being enlarged. It will be available again, if all goes well, by the time next year's CANSEC rolls around, even though persistent rumours on the show floor said it would be held "in a hangar on the air base." Again, stay tuned.