Vanguard Magazine

www.vanguardcanada.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 11 S Sit REp Construction is underway in Petawawa on a new facility to provide mod- ern, green, and functional infrastructure to the Canadian Armed Forces as per Strong, Secure, Engaged. Earlier this month, Minister of National Defence, Harjit S. Sajjan high- lighted the ongoing construction of The Royal Canadian Dragoons facility at 4th Canadian Division Support Base Petawawa. The Royal Canadian Dragoons is the most senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and was formed in 1883. This project is the first for the Government of Canada in using the integrated project delivery (IPD) approach for a construction project. According to a news release, this innovative approach involves joint project control between DND, the designers, and builders, and promotes greater collaboration between industry and the owner. The IPD approach is more innovative than traditional delivery models and has been used to successfully deliver both public and private sector infrastructure proj- ects. "It is my pleasure to mark ongoing construction on this project to pro- vide The Royal Canadian Dragoons with modern facilities," said Minister Sajjan. "The use of innovative approaches for this project is born of our determination to deliver on the commitments made in Strong, Secure, The Royal Canadian Dragoons new modern facility under construction in Petawawa Engaged – providing our Canadian Armed Forces members with the fa- cilities they need, combatting climate change, and creating well-paying jobs for Canadians." The project involves the renovation of two existing buildings, and the replacement of seven obsolete buildings with a single, centralized 9,633-m2 facility. Valued at $88.1 million, the project will provide mod- ern facilities with enhanced vehicle maintenance, storage, logistics, and training areas to increase collaboration and support daily operations. The new building has been designed to achieve the Three Globes certi- fication of the Green Globes Program and will save an estimated $4.6 million in operations and maintenance costs over 40 years. "I am delighted to see the progress being made on this important project. This new, greener facility will help us meet our commitments on climate change and ensure that the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces have the quality facility they deserve, where they can do the important work that we ask of them," said Will Amos, Member of Parliament for Pontiac. "The good jobs that projects like this one bring are all the more important as we respond to the economic impacts of COVID-19." Construction of the new facility began in spring 2020 is expected to be completed and operational in late 2021. Rendering of the new Royal Canadian Dragoon facility. Image: Defence Construction Canada. National Defence nor Canadian Armed Forces now or in our future." Previous work done by DND and the CAF Ombudsman will help to con- tribute to a deeper understanding of the scope of issues to be reviewed. The work of the Ombudsman will now focus on reviewing employment equity within the CAF and DND to ensure that this is up to the current obligations and provide recommendations on how to make the institution more equitable. "We must work to build a force that better reflects Canada and Canadi- ans, a diverse force that is open to all, to meet our high standards, with- out biased barriers or prejudice," said General Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff. "This requires cooperating with stakeholders, experts in their field, and our own CAF membership, dedicated to their mission, to advance the CAF in order to prevail in future conflicts. We can only succeed with a diverse force that rids itself of hateful conduct."

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