Vanguard Magazine

6 JUNE/JULY 2017 www.vanguardcanada.com s sIt rEP Defence minister Harjit Sajjan unveils the Liberal government's plan to expand the Canadian armed forces Canada's Defence Policy aims to increase spending by 70 per cent in 10 years Strong, Secure, Engaged – words that will un- doubtedly be spoken many times in the next few years. That's the theme of Canada's new defence policy – "a new vision and approach to defence" – issued by the Liberal government. Canada's Defence Policy was unveiled on June 7, after numerous setbacks and delays, with the aim of ensuring Canada is "Strong at home, Secure in North America, and Engaged in the world." With this new policy, the government is looking to "build a military that is ready and able to defend its sovereignty and to assist in times of natural disaster, support search and rescue, or respond to other emergencies." On the second tier, Canada will be actively in- volved in renewing its defence partnership in NORAD and with the United States. And on the global scale, it will be looking to make contribu- tions in keeping the world peaceful and stable. "If we are serious about Canada's role in the world, then we have to be serious about funding our military," Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said at news conference today. "And we are." "Strong, Secure, Engaged recognizes that the women and men in uniform are the Canadian Armed Forces' most important capability," said Sajjan. "With significant investments in care for personnel and families, equipment and training, and new capabilities, Canada's new defence poli- cy supports CAF members' dedication and role in making Canada strong at home, secure in North America, and engaged in the world." Through this new policy, Canada is looking to increase annual defence spending by over 70 per cent from $18.9 billion in 2016/17 to $32.7 billion in 2026/27, as well as caring for the military. The policy document highlighted that the government recognizes the most valuable as- set of the CAF is its people, and it is looking to grow the force, enhance care and support, and will focus on improving recruitment, training and retention. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance said that it is a great day to be in uniform, and the policy is a morale-booster for the troops because it places a premium on members. "It's a good thing for a military to know its coun- try has its back," he said. Seaspan looks to expand its supply chain for the NSS Seaspan recently held an Industry Day in Ottawa to provide an update on its progress of the Non- Combat package of the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). Over 50 companies participated in the event which according to Ian Brennan – Vice President, New Construction, Supply Chain Management & Contracts, Vancouver Shipyards – provided "an important opportunity to meet and engage with current and prospective suppliers." Brennan said that the meeting that was held on May 30, was used to describe their growing needs while ex- plaining in greater detail the role suppliers can play in becoming members of Seaspan's team to deliver the "best possible vessels to the Govern- ment of Canada." He went on to add that this event is a strong re- minder of the progress Seaspan is making on the NSS and their continued commitment to draw ex- perienced and innovative marine industrial com- panies to join their expanding supply chain. Seaspan is forecasted to spend over $1.3 billion with Canadian suppliers during the first decade of the NSS. Further, it is projected that Seaspan's NSS activity will generate more than 2300 direct, indirect and induced jobs annually and contribute almost $290 million in GDP for Canada's economy each year. The Government of Canada awarded Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards in October 2011, the con- tract to build non-combat vessels for the Cana- dian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy after an open and competitive procurement process. Seaspan's Non-Combat Vessel package in- cludes: • Three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSVs) • One Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) • Two Joint Support Ships (JSS) • One Polar Icebreaker (PIB) • Up to five Medium Endurance Multi-tasked Ves- sels (MEMTVs) • Up to five Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) Over 180 Canadian suppliers are part of Seaspan's team in building the three Offshore Fisheries Sci- ence Vessels.

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