Cabinet is back at square one on equipping a new submarine fleet after spending $3 billion on second-hand vessels that failed. The faulty vessels acquired by the Department of National Defence spent more time undergoing repairs than at sea, according to Blacklock's Reporter. No budget or deadlines were detailed in Defence Minister Bill Blair’s statement released Wednesday. “Canada is taking the first step toward the procurement of 12 conventionally powered, under-ice capable submarines,” wrote Blair. “Canada is launching the process to formally engage industry on this acquisition. This is an important step,” said Blair, adding the department this fall will issue a Request For Information to contractors.“Canada is the country with the largest coastline in the world. An underwater surveillance capability is crucial to our security and sovereignty.”The “first step” announcement follows a decades-long submarine program that cost taxpayers billions. Parliament in 1995 approved the purchase of four used, diesel-powered submarines from the United Kingdom for $750 million. The subs at the time were between 15 and 19 years old.One submarine subsequently caught fire, killing a crewman, while others required immediate refits and repairs. The Navy in a 2023 Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons said of all four vessels only one, HMCS Windsor, had been to sea in the past two years.The Windsor logged 43 days at sea including a September 10, 2022 incident in which it began flooding while on patrol off Nova Scotia and had to return to its home port in Halifax. Three sailors had minor injuries.“Canada’s four Victoria-class submarines form the core of the Royal Canadian Navy’s underwater surveillance capabilities,” said the inquiry.“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 has estimated maintenance contracts running to 2025 will cost $3,004,519,213. Then-Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in a 2020 defence investment plan report put ongoing maintenance costs at up to $5 billion by 2035.“The government budgets approximately $325 million per year to conduct regular and cyclical maintenance,” wrote Sajjan. The contractor hired for ongoing repairs since 2008 is Babcock International Group PLC, a British supplier.The Rideau Institute, an Ottawa think tank, in a 2013 report called the submarine purchase and decades-long maintenance a taxpayers’ boondoggle. “It should have been evident the Victoria-class submarines were badly flawed,” said the report.
Cabinet is back at square one on equipping a new submarine fleet after spending $3 billion on second-hand vessels that failed. The faulty vessels acquired by the Department of National Defence spent more time undergoing repairs than at sea, according to Blacklock's Reporter. No budget or deadlines were detailed in Defence Minister Bill Blair’s statement released Wednesday. “Canada is taking the first step toward the procurement of 12 conventionally powered, under-ice capable submarines,” wrote Blair. “Canada is launching the process to formally engage industry on this acquisition. This is an important step,” said Blair, adding the department this fall will issue a Request For Information to contractors.“Canada is the country with the largest coastline in the world. An underwater surveillance capability is crucial to our security and sovereignty.”The “first step” announcement follows a decades-long submarine program that cost taxpayers billions. Parliament in 1995 approved the purchase of four used, diesel-powered submarines from the United Kingdom for $750 million. The subs at the time were between 15 and 19 years old.One submarine subsequently caught fire, killing a crewman, while others required immediate refits and repairs. The Navy in a 2023 Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons said of all four vessels only one, HMCS Windsor, had been to sea in the past two years.The Windsor logged 43 days at sea including a September 10, 2022 incident in which it began flooding while on patrol off Nova Scotia and had to return to its home port in Halifax. Three sailors had minor injuries.“Canada’s four Victoria-class submarines form the core of the Royal Canadian Navy’s underwater surveillance capabilities,” said the inquiry.“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 has estimated maintenance contracts running to 2025 will cost $3,004,519,213. Then-Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in a 2020 defence investment plan report put ongoing maintenance costs at up to $5 billion by 2035.“The government budgets approximately $325 million per year to conduct regular and cyclical maintenance,” wrote Sajjan. The contractor hired for ongoing repairs since 2008 is Babcock International Group PLC, a British supplier.The Rideau Institute, an Ottawa think tank, in a 2013 report called the submarine purchase and decades-long maintenance a taxpayers’ boondoggle. “It should have been evident the Victoria-class submarines were badly flawed,” said the report.
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