Defence Minister Bill Blair says the government wants to “redefine” its relationship with the defence industry to move faster on urgent procurements tied to national security priorities. But, an industry representative says companies can't help achieve this outcome if Ottawa doesn't have a clear spending strategy. “You can’t ask industry to guess what the government’s plan is, and how much it will spend to achieve two per cent by 2032.
president David Perry says Minister Bill Blair could create a new dynamic between the defence industry and government. Photograph courtesy of David Perry Cianfarani agreed with Blair’s observation the relationship has been “very transactional,” but said industry is eager for “real conversations about where we need to go with national security and defence in this country.” David Perry, president of
, said if Blair leads efforts to engage Canada’s industrial base and hear their perspectives on improving procurement practices, it could 'absolutely create a new dynamic' in procurement. 'The minister says a lot of the right kinds of things, and now people will be watching eagerly to see what actually comes with it,' Perry said in an interview after the conference.
conference on Nov. 25. photograph by Andrew Meade Better procurement calls for mindset change, says vice defence chief Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Lt.-Gen. Stephen Kelsey says there needs to be a mindset change to improve Canada's problem-plagues defence procurement. photograph by Sam Garcia Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Lt.-Gen. Stephen Kelsey stressed to the industry audience that the federal procurement system is “not behaving nor performing in the way it was conceived.