Vanguard Magazine

32 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com ARCTIC Meanwhile, the Canadian Government is, in parallel, aggressively pursuing an In- novation Agenda, including establishing Innovation Superclusters like the Ocean Supercluster centered in Atlantic Canada. And while arctic needs and related innova- tive solutions are expected to be a strong focus of that Supercluster, the remoteness and vastness of the Arctic will make the cost of deploying and testing arctic innova- tions prohibitive. Suppose one or more AOPS were to be deployed as a floating platform for those arctic innovations to be tested? And fur- ther, what if the crew of the AOPS was not just made up of the traditional navy sailors, but also Inuit elders and other experts who could impart their traditional knowledge of the North as well as their unique expertise to the innovators, making their innovations more successful, more useful, and more ef- ficiently developed? And what if those in- novations, in turn, led to further positive development and progress of Arctic ma- rine transportation corridors, Inuit coastal communities, and Canadian defence and sovereignty? North Warning System In-Service Support The NWS sustainment contract is com- ing due for renewal. And since the current contract was let, the Government of Cana- da has negotiated some major agreements with the Canadian Aboriginal governments including the "Inuit Nunangat Declaration on Inuit-Crown Partnership Agreement" and the Nunavut Settlement Agreement, including Article 24 relating the procure- ment by the Government of Canada of goods, services, leases, and construction delivered within or into the Nunavut Set- tlement Area. Those agreements, coupled with the growth in business acumen and capacity of the Inuit Development Corporations, sets the stage for Inuit-owned corporations to take a prime role in the management and execution of a long-term contract with the Department of National Defence for North Warning System in-service sup- port. And, analogous to the approach the Department of National Defence is now taking with awarding long term in-ser- vice support contracts for naval ships, the length of which allow and incentivize the prime contractor to make significant invest- ments in productivity improvements, an Inuit-led NWS ISS contract would enable the Inuit prime contractor to make and ex- ecute a comprehensive and truly significant capacity building plan. Future Fighter Capability Project On July 21, 2016, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that: "We will immediately launch an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft. The primary mis- sion of our fighter aircraft should remain the defence of North America, not stealth first-strike capability." The prominence of the North America defence mission coupled with the increased Arctic threat environment, primarily Rus- sian, strongly suggests increased importance of Arctic missions and use of Forward Op- erating Locations (FOLs) across Canada's North. That, in turn, drives mission require- ments for operational excellence in those missions, but also for technical requirements that permit highly cost-effective operations using those Forward Operating Locations, including base facilities, ground crew op- erations, equipment handling and so on. Which, in turn, if properly planned and ex- ecuted, includes win-win outcomes between the RCAF and the FOL communities for growing the capacity and economic wellbe- ing of those communities while contribut- ing to the effective and efficient support of Canada's future fighter fleet. North Warning Radar Site, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut CF-18 in Iqaluit

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