Canadian Defence minister O'Connor announced in Nova Scotia today that the Conservative government will spend $2.9 billion on three new military ships - the first of an estimated $15 billion in defence spending expected to be announced this week.During the press conference, the minister of Public Works was asked if regional considerations would be a factor in making the final decision about which company might win the contract. The question was carefully avoided by claims that the choice will simply be based on which company can provide exactly what's needed.
But, governments rarely make business decisions without considering the political implications.
These are the finalists:
The four consortia bidding on the project definition phase are led by:
Irving Shipbuilding
BAE Systems (Project) Limited (BAE Systems Naval Ships)
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG
SNC-Lavalin Profac Inc.
Irving is based in Nova Scotia while SNC-Lavalin has its home in Quebec. The other two companies have their head offices in France and Germany.
Will the Conservatives be able to resist the opportunity to score political points by granting the contract to a Quebec company at a time when it needs more support from the people of that province? I doubt it.
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