Harper Government Receives Jenkins Report on Military Procurement

Government of Canada/Public Works — February 12, 2013

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 12, 2013) - The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, today received a report entitled Canada First: Leveraging Defence Procurement Through Key Industrial Capabilities, prepared by a panel of experts chaired by Tom Jenkins, Special Adviser to the Minister. This report was prepared to help develop the Government's defence procurement strategy.

"The Harper Government is committed to supporting Canadian jobs and industry by maximizing military procurement," said Minister Ambrose. "I am pleased to receive this report from Mr. Jenkins. Our Government will carefully review and consider this report as we continue to improve military procurement and focus on maximizing its economic benefits for Canadian families."

Mr. Jenkins' report lays the groundwork for the Harper Government to further leverage the impact of military procurement to support the Canadian economy. It builds on actions that the Harper Government has already initiated and will continue to improve upon, with the ultimate objective of ensuring the best possible value for money, decreasing timelines, engaging industry early and substantively in the process, and improving the oversight and governance of major purchases.

Military procurement plays a major role in Canada's economy. It is estimated, by the Canadian Association of Defence and Securities Industries that every billion dollars in defence and security spending creates or sustains 18,000 jobs and creates $710 million in Gross Domestic Product.

In 2008, the Harper Government announced the Canada First Defence Strategy - a long-term strategy to modernize the Canadian Armed Forces. This strategy outlines a major investment in the Canadian Armed Forces that has given Canada a unique "once in a century" opportunity to create jobs and growth, while enhancing sovereign capability.

The report is available at http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/app-acq/documents/eam-lmp-eng.pdf.

Ce texte est également disponible en français.

PWGSC news releases are also available on our Internet site at http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/medias-media/index-eng.html.

Backgrounder

Improving Military Government Procurement

The Harper Government remains focused on what matters to Canadians - jobs, growth and long term economic prosperity. It is estimated that every billion dollars in defence and security spending creates or sustains 18,000 jobs and creates $710 million in Gross Domestic Product. Our Government is committed to buying military equipment in a way that benefits Canadian families.

Delivering on Commitments

As a part of its procurement renewal strategy, the Harper Government developed a new approach comprised on four key elements:

Early Engagement: bringing clients and suppliers together as soon as the need is first identified ;
Effective Governance: providing oversight, and establishing mechanisms to allow dialogue between suppliers and clients;
Independent Advice: using third party expertise, and ensuring integrity and fairness; and
Leveraging the Buy: using procurement as an engine of economic growth, job creation, and socio-economic benefits.

The Harper Government will continue to build and improve upon this new approach.

This new approach was part of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS). Under the NSPS, the principles of extensive industry consultations, along with the establishment of a strong governance structure and the involvement of independent third parties, were applied in a comprehensive and innovative way and contributed to the success of the strategy.

Leveraging Military Procurement

In Budget 2011, the Harper Government committed to developing a military procurement strategy in consultation with industry, to maximize job creation, support Canadian manufacturing capabilities and innovation, and bolster economic growth.

In September of 2012, and further to his November 2011 report, Mr. Tom Jenkins was appointed as Special Adviser to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services to inform the further development of the Government's defence procurement strategy. The resulting report, entitled "Canada First: Leveraging Defence Procurement through Key Industrial Capabilities" was delivered to Minister Ambrose on February 12, 2013.

As Special Adviser to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Mr. Jenkins mandate was to engage a range of stakeholders involved in Canada's defence-related industries with a view to considering and indentifying criteria, and a supporting process to inform the identification of key industrial capabilities.

While Canada's defence industry is large, representing nearly $12.6B in revenues in 2011, and over 70,000 in jobs, there is room to grow. Canada's significant military procurement program can be used to aid this growth. The Harper Government is committed to working with Canada's defence-related industries to better leverage military procurements in support of Canadian jobs, economic growth and the competitiveness of these industries, particularly in regard to innovation and technology development.

The Government looks forward to reviewing this innovative report.

To view the report please visit: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/app-acq/documents/eam-lmp-eng.pdf

Contact Information

Amber Irwin
Office of the Honourable Rona Ambrose
819-997-5421

Media Relations
Public Works and Government Services Canada
819-956-2315