Canadas Arctic presence must get back on track

The Canadian government’s plan to buy $10-billion worth of new navy ships, including a fleet of Arctic icebreakers, needs to get “back on track,” Defence Minister Peter MacKay says. This is growing urgent because Arctic ice is melting more quickly than expected, opening up new polar sea routes that will test Canada’s sovereignty aspirations in the Far North.

MacKay singled out possible naval encroachments from Russia and China, saying, “We have to be diligent.” MacKay said that the $2.9-billion plan to build and buy three new Joint Support Ships, as well as the $7.4-billion development of a fleet of up to eight new Polar Class 5 Arctic offshore patrol ships needs a fresh political kick-start in the new year.

The ship purchases were part of the government’s highly touted, multi-billion-dollar “Canada First” defence strategy that was unveiled with great fanfare in a series of announcements across the country since 2006. But a large gap remains between the government’s naval ambitions and the Canadian industry’s ability to deliver a product that meets the government’s budget. The government received several bids on the JSS but all were too high, said a Defence Department official.

At the time of the JSS announcement, the military touted it as a “good deal for Canadian industry” saying that “this infusion of opportunity into Canada’s shipbuilding industry means the creation of high-quality jobs and fostering industrial development, which will in turn, contribute to a stronger Canadian economy.” A Defence Department official said the icebreakers are currently in the “project definition stage” that would require further consultations with industry before bids were solicited.

The government hopes to solicit bids by June 2009 and to begin delivery of the new ships by 2013. MacKay said that Canada must be physically able to patrol Arctic waters. He said Canada also would rely on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and planned to increase its contingent of Arctic Rangers in the North.