PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
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Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Further Information Needed on Replacing Canada's Fighter Jets
Ottawa, November 21, 2012 -
OTTAWA – Parliamentarians and Canadians need full and complete information in order to have confidence in the process to replace Canada’s fighter jets, according to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ report presented today in the House of Commons by committee chair David Christopherson.
In April 2012, The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) released a performance audit on the governmental processes associated with replacing Canada’s fighter jets. The OAG concluded that while National Defence and Industry Canada had managed industrial participation well, there were significant weaknesses in the decision-making process used by National Defence, and Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) did not fully carry out its role as the government’s procurement authority.
In its report, the Committee noted that it is vital that the government replace Canada’s CF-18 fleet in a timely manner. It is also important to maintain the public’s trust through a transparent and accountable process that provides full and complete information to parliamentarians and Canadians.
The Committee concluded that creating a fighter procurement secretariat within PWGSC is an important first step, but it is also necessary to provide further information on the anticipated industrial benefits and the estimated acquisition, operating, and sustainment costs of the F-35.
The Committee recommended that Industry Canada provide an update on industrial benefits, that the government table independently verified cost estimates, that National Defence return with what elements are, and are not, included in the estimated acquisition cost, that National Defence provide the estimated operating and sustainment costs of the F-35, that the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat clarify what is meant by full life cycle costing, that National Defence indicate the period over which it is estimating life cycle costs, and that National Defence specify how it will mitigate the risks associated with replacing the CF-18 fighter aircraft fleet.
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