Ongoing maintenance and refit costs for Canada’s submarine fleet has topped $3 billion, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
“Canada’s four Victoria-class submarines form the core of the Royal Canadian Navy’s underwater surveillance capabilities,” said cabinet in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons.
“Covert, well-armed and capable of patrolling vast distances, these submarines provide support to maritime law enforcement in investigating narcotics trafficking, smuggling, and polluting cases as well as conducting domestic and international operations.”
Cabinet said maintenance contracts running to 2025 will cost $3 billion, more than double the $1.3 billion disclosed two years ago. Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant requested the figures.
The Canadian Submarine Force acknowledged it was short on sailors. The Canadian military requires 503 members to run submarines.
“From 2019 to 2022, 140 submariners have been recruited,” said cabinet.
Seventy submariners completed their basic qualifications to date.
Submarines spent little time at sea this year. The inquiry said of the four submarines, one was deployed for a total 43 days.
The other three submarines remained in dry dock. Cabinet said modernizing the fleet will improve living and deployment conditions and ensure survivability against future threats.
The Canadian government said this maintenance and modernization will support jobs. Parliament approved the purchase of the four used, diesel-powered submarines from the United Kingdom for $750 million in 1995.
University of Manitoba Centre for Defence and Security Studies Deputy Director James Fergusson said in 2021 Canada should abandon renewing its submarine fleet.
Jonathan Bradley is a Reporter for the Western Standard & Alberta Report. Bradley has contributed stories to the National Post, True North, and Canadaland. He obtained a master's degree in media production at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Total money spent since the beginning of purchase means Canada could have designed and built its own Subs at lower cost and with the highest tech functionality.
At the time it was noted that the UK must have experienced the joy of a used car salesman unloading a vehicle that appeared destined to become a sales lot ornament,
These aging subs are merely another symbol of the tenuous survival of Canada itself. The cold hard facts are simply that the country will not, cannot, survive another decade. Sudden destruction comes and we can thank the Little Lying Eunuch in Ottawa.
Here's an easy way to free up money for repairs for the subs. Stop any covid programs and testing because they do nothing and dedicate that money for repairs. All the money that was spent on security, covid cops, testing, arrivecan, and on and on probably would have covered the entire 3B bill
Those are the subs that had to be 'rescued' by the US Navi during transit from the UK, once in Canada they had to be stripped down to the bare metal and tons of asbestos had to be disposed of. These rust buckets were so old they were likely commissioned when Winston Churchill was the British PM.
....and thinking about our government procurement bureaucracy, it is obviously due for a shakeup aka what Premier Smith is doing at Alberta Health. This one for Mr. Pollievre - our next PM.
As I recollect, somewhere along the way, we said we (Canadian military) would move towards unmanned drone capability? The light bulb once again came on when a drone took out a Russian warship in the Black Sea. Drones can be in the air, or under the sea. They are much more cost effective, don't put persons at risk, and with new cam tech are nearly as good as human eyeballs I should think. Not to mention, requiring much less fuel and possibilities of electric or nuclear(?). Then all you need is well positioned/equipped response teams and or missiles. Done deal. Let's go.
Simply another example of how everything the federal NDP/liberal government, past and present, is involved with; fails in every respect and costs taxpayers a fortune. While simultaneously rewarding liberal donors.
The submarines are located in a long time Liberal supporting shipyard Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax. The tax payer will be paying for this mess as long as Liberals need campaign dollars.
I worked on the HMCS fleet in the Victoria shipyard in 2018 & 2019 and the submarine program was located at DND onsite near the Esquimalt drydock with seaspan, not Irving. Dont post things that arent
true. However, the taxpayer getting hosed as accurate. There was an inside joke about retiring on the sub program was great. The waste and taxdollars squandered on these useless iron cans was astounding. Great jobs for tradesmen with neverending revisions and rework and doubletime OT though.
Just read an article in Canadian navel news, won’t let me copy and paste, but there are two submarines based in Halifax, as of 2021, if there are 4 total submarines in the fleet that would make half based in Halifax. So I would suggest you take your own advice, and post things that aren’t true.
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(16) comments
Total money spent since the beginning of purchase means Canada could have designed and built its own Subs at lower cost and with the highest tech functionality.
I wonder why sailors don’t want to serve on these old (40? 50?) piles of junk? Maybe they should all watch Down Periscope.
At the time it was noted that the UK must have experienced the joy of a used car salesman unloading a vehicle that appeared destined to become a sales lot ornament,
Make work project for tons of bureaucrats..bets???
These aging subs are merely another symbol of the tenuous survival of Canada itself. The cold hard facts are simply that the country will not, cannot, survive another decade. Sudden destruction comes and we can thank the Little Lying Eunuch in Ottawa.
Here's an easy way to free up money for repairs for the subs. Stop any covid programs and testing because they do nothing and dedicate that money for repairs. All the money that was spent on security, covid cops, testing, arrivecan, and on and on probably would have covered the entire 3B bill
Those are the subs that had to be 'rescued' by the US Navi during transit from the UK, once in Canada they had to be stripped down to the bare metal and tons of asbestos had to be disposed of. These rust buckets were so old they were likely commissioned when Winston Churchill was the British PM.
*US NAVY[smile]
....and thinking about our government procurement bureaucracy, it is obviously due for a shakeup aka what Premier Smith is doing at Alberta Health. This one for Mr. Pollievre - our next PM.
As I recollect, somewhere along the way, we said we (Canadian military) would move towards unmanned drone capability? The light bulb once again came on when a drone took out a Russian warship in the Black Sea. Drones can be in the air, or under the sea. They are much more cost effective, don't put persons at risk, and with new cam tech are nearly as good as human eyeballs I should think. Not to mention, requiring much less fuel and possibilities of electric or nuclear(?). Then all you need is well positioned/equipped response teams and or missiles. Done deal. Let's go.
Simply another example of how everything the federal NDP/liberal government, past and present, is involved with; fails in every respect and costs taxpayers a fortune. While simultaneously rewarding liberal donors.
Another Chretien Liberal corruption fiasco.
As corrupt as chretien may have seemed at that time, he is almost like a Saint compared to JT.
The submarines are located in a long time Liberal supporting shipyard Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax. The tax payer will be paying for this mess as long as Liberals need campaign dollars.
I worked on the HMCS fleet in the Victoria shipyard in 2018 & 2019 and the submarine program was located at DND onsite near the Esquimalt drydock with seaspan, not Irving. Dont post things that arent
true. However, the taxpayer getting hosed as accurate. There was an inside joke about retiring on the sub program was great. The waste and taxdollars squandered on these useless iron cans was astounding. Great jobs for tradesmen with neverending revisions and rework and doubletime OT though.
Just read an article in Canadian navel news, won’t let me copy and paste, but there are two submarines based in Halifax, as of 2021, if there are 4 total submarines in the fleet that would make half based in Halifax. So I would suggest you take your own advice, and post things that aren’t true.
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