Vanguard Magazine

Jun/Jul 2015

Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR

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www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2015 41 T TEChnOlOgy WAtCH "Our ability to export Edgewater's technical expertise...has led to the creation of foreign funded, Canadian-owned intellectual property." to an OEM is one way to unearth even fur- ther export growth. (To demonstrate the reach of Canadian exports, within the OMX platform we have recently indexed where every single Canadian company conducts their exports. Click the "Exporting to" visualization filter in our marketplace and it will automatically create heat maps of the data, enabling users to easily recognize the impact of Canada's defence industry abroad.) Why the emphasis on exports? While the Canadian economy as a whole has been running a trade deficit, studies have shown that defence industry exports have been on the rise. Increasing Canadian exports will lead to large inflows of foreign capital – foreign direct investment – contributing to a trade surplus. To say nothing of the jobs, GDP growth and investments in R&D that also come along as benefits. There is also a case for "economic diplomacy" – that by doing business with other countries and companies abroad, we increase our inter- national linkages and relationships. Above all, and here's my ego talking, its just nice to showcase Canadian innovation as a front-runner in the global industry. Canada has made it very clear: exports are central to the Defence Procurement Strategy and one of the key pillars in the Value Proposition Evaluation Framework. The government is intent on ensuring more than just Canadian content in future procurements and will be awarding more points in value proposition evaluations to OEMs that commit to delivering not only business to Canadian firms from a contract award, but ensure they are also inserted into their global value chains. The value proposition now stands as the mechanism to incentivize and encourage this. Each individual procurement differs in how it incorporates Canadian exports into the value proposition. Yet it is clear that exports will continue to be a major por- tion of the total evaluation criteria. A few recent value proposition assessments have awarded up to 25 of 100 points based on their impact on Canadian exports, with those 100 points being worth 20 percent of the entire bid evaluation. As a company that lives data, we at OMX don't believe it is good enough to just de- scribe how you are going to contribute to exports when so much is on the line. Our position for foreign OEMs, in particular, is: give Canadian industry a shot at your global value chain opportunities. And the proof comes with data. Where did you give opportunities? To how many compa- nies? How many were SMEs? How many were Aboriginal owned? Where were they? Show me on a map. It isn't good enough to talk anymore. When you are being evaluated and a major contract is on the line, nice words – some refer to it as "fluff" – won't get you all the way to max points. We need to start pro- viding real opportunities, backed by real data, in order to have a real impact. ROuSSEAu iMpROVEd Sliding dOORS For 65 years, Rousseau has been creating high-quality products tailored to the needs of its customers. they have recently introduced their new sliding doors with improved durability and elegance. this new sliding mechanism now offers greater stability while retaining its practical and versatile quali- ties. the innovative new design protects the rails from obstructions and also reduces the risk of breakage. the new sliding doors offer maximum clearance to facilitate access to items stored in heavy-duty "R" cabinets, and in addition to being compat- ible with 24" and 30" double cabinets, they can also be installed in front of drawers and roll-out shelves. Doors are available in steel or polycarbonate, with or without a frame. An integrated lock is also included providing elegant aesthetics and essential security. the polycarbonate doors offer excellent resistance to impacts. For more information, visit www.rousseaumetal.com or at 1-866-463-4273.

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