No new money for the Canadian Armed Forces in Budget 2014, but the government did move $3.1 billion in National Defence funding for major capital procurements from the 2013-14 to 29016-17 period “to ensure that funding is available when needed for planned procurements.” Had the money not been re-profiled, it would have accrued back to the fiscal framework of the government.
The government also reiterated its recently announced Defence Procurement Strategy, stressing the importance of “building a stronger and more competitive defence sector that is better able to develop innovative products and solutions, deliver high-value exports and create high-paying jobs for Canadians.”
The DPS, based on a 2013 report by Tom Jenkins of Open Text titled Canada First: Leveraging Defence Procurement Through Key Industrial Capabilities, has three objectives: delivering the right equipment to the Canadian Armed Forces in a timely manner; improving the economic outcomes of defence procurement in terms of high-quality jobs for Canadians and exports for Canadian firms; and streamlining decision-making processes.
The government said the strategy “will ensure early and continuous engagement with industry in the procurement process, including through the publication of an annual Defence Acquisitions Guide that outlines Canada’s defence procurement priorities. The Strategy will also require a value proposition for each major procurement that will specify how it will support key industrial capabilities and increase the competitiveness of Canadian firms in the global marketplace.”
