Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Comité permanent des comptes publics

For immediate release

Ottawa, June 08, 2017 -

National Defence did not adequately manage military equipment support in a cost-effective manner and paid for a higher level of service than it used, stemming in part from initial planning assumptions that overestimated equipment use, underestimated support costs, and under-resourced personnel requirements, according to a report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts tabled today in the House of Commons by the Hon. Kevin Sorenson, Chair of the Committee.

In the fall of 2016, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) released a performance audit whose objective was to determine whether National Defence managed equipment support in a cost-effective manner, so that military equipment was available and reliable to meet the Canadian Armed Forces’ operations and training requirements. For this audit, the OAG selected six types of equipment.

Specifically, the OAG found that the planning assumptions stated above led to higher costs and reduced equipment availability. The equipment support contracts had significant fixed costs resulting in National Defence paying for a higher level of service than it used, thereby reducing funding available for other equipment. In this report, the Committee made eight recommendations that seek to ensure that National Defence properly addresses the gaps identified in the OAG’s audit.