The speed at which Canada obtains its military equipment following the government’s budgetary allocations could be improved significantly if Ottawa were to cut down on the number of ministers overseeing those procurements, says Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Yves Giroux.
Giroux told the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence on June 9 that the current system of having “at least two ministers and two departments involved in major procurement processes” is slowing down the rate at which Canada can acquire new defence equipment.
Currently, military procurement contracts go through at least both the Department of National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) before approval.
Giroux acknowledged that the issue of eliminating unnecessary specifications is a “delicate issue,” but said that having a “single point” of ministerial accountability on the matter would accelerate military appropriation significantly.
“Major procurements are ultimately resting upon political decisions and there’s also contracting approaches that favour industry partners and tend to cede control from the federal government,” Giroux said.
Conservative MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman asked the budget officer if he believes “having a single point of ministerial responsibility would contribute to a faster and more efficient procurement process.”
“It would certainly be a contributing factor, and something that would favourably enhance the speed of procurement and the efficiency of the procurement process to have one single minister and one single senior official responsible,” Giroux replied.
However, he didn’t suggest which ministry he believes would be best suited for that single responsibility.
“That’s a question that I don’t think I’m in the best position to answer as to who should be responsible,” he said.
“I think as long as there is one organization or minister or senior official that is ultimately responsible—with the right skill set and the right support structure behind them—that would be appropriate, whether it be PSPC or National Defence or even somebody else.”
Giroux did say that handing the responsibility of military equipment purchases to a “coordination group or a responsible Secretariat” within the Privy Council Office would make the process as efficient as possible,“ as it would ”signal to the entire bureaucracy that the issue is very important.”
Giroux told the committee that his office will soon release its report on the matter.
