Equipment Procurement

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DND Response to Chapter 5 of the 2009 Fall Report of the Auditor General of Canada

On November 3, 2009, the Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, tabled her Fall Report in the House of Commons. Chapter 5 of the Auditor General’s Report, “Acquiring Military Vehicles for Use in Afghanistan” examines four urgent acquisition projects, each worth more than $100 million, to acquire military vehicles to improve operational capability and the protection of soldiers in Afghanistan: Armoured Patrol Vehicles (RG-31), Light Armoured Vehicle with Remote Weapon Station (LAV RWS), Armoured Heavy Support Vehicle System (AHSVS), and Leopard 2 Tank.

The findings and recommendations of the Auditor General are found on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada’s website, at the following link:
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/
English/parl_oag_200911_05_e_33206.html)

The Department of National Defence welcomes the findings and recommendations of the Auditor General, and issues the following statements:

Recommendations of the Auditor General:

The Department of National Defence agrees with the recommendations made in Chapter 5 of the Report of the Auditor General and is implementing lessons learned to improve the military procurement process for urgent operational requirements.

Operational Needs:

The urgent acquisition of military vehicles for Afghanistan was highly successful.  The vehicles were delivered in a timely manner, giving deployed troops the added protection they need to safely do their jobs.  These vehicles have saved Canadian lives, and continue to do so in Afghanistan.

The acquisition of these vehicles has greatly enhanced the protection of our soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.  They have afforded our soldiers increased flexibility in the accomplishments of their missions by allowing them to move more freely in the areas of operations.  The Leopard 2 tanks, the AHSVS, and the RG-31 vehicles have been exposed to attacks and have saved lives.

The LAV RWS vehicles designated for deployment recently arrived in Kandahar and have just started being employed by the new rotation of troops as part of their security operations.

Defence Procurement Process:

The Department of National Defence recognizes that there were administrative issues with the procurement of this equipment.  The findings of the Auditor General’s report justify the ongoing efforts by the Government of Canada to improve and streamline the military procurement process.

The Department of National Defence is committed to a procurement process that is transparent, open and efficient while providing best value for Canadian taxpayers.

Budget:

The Department of National Defence is managing all four acquisition projects within their allocated budgets, although acknowledges that the LAV RWS Project required a second submission for completion of the project.