Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/122908
Executive Interview E his recommendations. I think Industry Minister Christian Paradis and the government understand where we are and what we want to achieve. One of the things that we need to do – and David focused on this – is look at all those government programs and policies to see what we need to change to drive innovation, technology development and increase intensity on R&D. That then will allow us to position ourselves globally. Q Technology development, innovation and market access feature prominently in his first 12 recommendations. What's been missing to date? David focused on several things and one was technology development and innovation. That links to industry's commitment to R&D and more competitive government programs like SADI (Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative). Number one, he said we need to recapitalize it and, two, we need to change the terms and conditions to make it more competitive. He also talked about programs like technology demonstration – there is a huge competitive advantage for those countries that have them. Both of these things were included by the government in the budget, so we are very happy to see that they agree with the urgency of these issues. David also addressed export controls: 80 percent of what we manufacturer in Canada goes into exports, so how things are treated at the border and issues around export controls are critical to our success. Our ability to certify our aircraft and aircraft components and parts is another critical area. On market access, he raised economic diplomacy. When you look abroad at countries like France and Germany going to China and other emerging economies, it is their political leaders who are helping sell their industries. Prime Minister Harper and his government have made significant strides in this area but we've got to be better because it is a key piece to being globally competitive. Then there are issues of upgrading and up-skilling our people. In every jurisdiction, the first question you get is how are you generating the skills and the people you need to be competitive? And it's not just the aerospace industry: the Canadian Council of CEOs and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce have recognized the importance of this. Q Where do you turn to enhance your skill set? Academia is a major partner, so are the provinces and the federal government. One of the recommendations coming out of the aerospace people and skills working group report is the need for a national approach to how we deal with people and skills. There are some good pieces out there: NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) does good work, the universities do good work, some of the colleges are closely tied to the aerospace industry – some of their classrooms are in our facilities – but we need a national strategy for how we are going to move for- ward with the up-skilling and development of our people. It's not just different entities doing their thing; we need to come together collectively to make sure we get this right. The money that countries like China and India are putting into developing engineers, for example, is huge. We do not have the same resources so we have to be more nimble, more focused and more strategic. Q Both Emerson and Jenkins recommended establishing priority technologies and key industrial capabilities (KICs). Canada is already recognized for certain niche expertise. How would this change the sector? You could say because we are seen globally as having world leading capabilities – in business jets, landing gear, simulation or small engines, and now on the environmental technology side – industry looks to Canada for certain expertise. But in terms of technology and prioritization, KICs are key because they help us identify and bring clarity to what the priorities should be. David suggested a list of priority technologies that is focused on where should Canada be in terms of the global supply chain. If we try to be all things to all people, then that is what it will look like. If we're strategic in our key industrial capabilities, how that transfers into prioritization of technologies, then we've got a good opportunity to maintain our stature as a world leader. David recommended this because he clearly felt, with our limited resources for technology development, we need to make sure they go to the right kind of technology. I think you'll see Canadian industry continue to focus on those niche areas, to further refine and invest more in innovation and technology development. But I also think you'll see us in new areas where we will be taking on a global leadership role – composites would be one, for example, with the work being done in Manitoba and Nova Scotia. What we are trying to do through our long-term projections is understand how to get in front of those technology developments. This is why programs like technology development and changes to programs like SADI are important – they are tools to get there. Q A number of high-profile aerospace projects are currently experiencing delays. In your view, are there fundamental problems with defence procurement? I think it's generally felt that people see our procurement process as broken and it needs to be fixed. I think government believes that as well or they wouldn't have asked David and Tom to do the work that they did. We all agree – government, industry and other related stakeholders – that there needs to be change if we're to be successful. David looked at procurement from an innovation and technology development standpoint, whether through industrial regional benefits (IRBs) or in-service support (ISS). AIAC believes we should be using ISS and IRBs to drive technology and help build Canadian industry capacity. I don't think we put that ahead of the safety of our men and women in uniform, but there's no reason why we can't, as we are looking to procure the best equipment possible, also look at how we can build capacity. We believe there needs to be a long-term industrial strategy for how www.vanguardcanada.com APRIL/MAY 2013 13