CANADA'S PROBLEM-PLAGUED SHIP BUILDING PROGRAM

Canada should scuttle its problem-plagued shipbuilding program and instead launch a series of fixed-cost competitions to ensure it quickly obtains icebreakers, supply ships and frigates, a new report argues.
The study warns that the federal government’s efforts to build new ships are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. The report’s author, Prof. Michael Byers, recommends dumping the current process and re-launching an expedited procurement that would save money by using only fixed-price competitions and off-the-shelf ship designs.
In addition, the report proposes shelving the plan to build a heavy polar icebreaker in Vancouver, recommending instead an expedited fixed-price competition for the conversion or construction of four to five medium icebreakers. With climate change reducing the severity of ice conditions in the north, Byers argues, the project to build a ship of the size and ice-breaking capacity of the planned polar icebreaker is excessive and overly expensive.