Harper government defence procurement planning...

Spin the wheel! Where it stops, nobody knows!

The latest example of that was provided yesterday during an "industry day" for potential bidders on replacement search and rescue fixed-wing aircraft, a day described by many in the aerospace industry as a disaster. (Emphasis mine)

A $3-billion project to buy new search-and-rescue aircraft opened Tuesday in Ottawa amid complaints from aerospace-industry officials that government representatives can't even say how many planes will be purchased or when.

The industry day, signifying the start of the much-delayed program, left aerospace representatives puzzled and at times frustrated.

Government representatives who called the meeting couldn't answer questions on how many planes would be bought, when they would be purchased, whether they would be equipped with sensors or how they would be maintained.

Several participants described the event, put on by the Defence Department, Public Works and Industry Canada, as a disaster.

Even the presentation, which was limited to 90 minutes, failed.

The audio-visual presentation that was to outline details of the program did not work and the microphones for the main speakers and audience members failed.

That, however embarrassing it might have been, isn't that uncommon. However, given that this is Harper's world-stage® government at play, you'd think they could have sorted out a power-point presentation and audio systems before they actually got started.

The real kicker, however, is this one.

At the last minute, the Harper government shut down an invitation for the media to listen to the presentations, leading to a bizarre situation where government employees refused to even confirm they were government employees.

And just in case you think someone in a uniform made that decision without authority, let's look a little closer.

The Defence Department had approved the Citizen's request to be allowed to listen to the search-and-rescue presentation by Brig.-Gen. Greg Matte, but at the last minute that invitation was cancelled on orders from "higher up" in the Harper government, according to various officials.

A supervisor at the Government Teleconferencing Service, which was involved in broadcasting the meeting, said the order to ban the media "just came down" Tuesday morning. "We're doing what we're told," said the supervisor who declined to provide his name. "They've said to disclose nothing further."

He also declined to provide his name, confirm whether he was a public servant or discuss who "they" were.

Ah, more jiggery-pokery from the upper suite. Mackay and the spin merchants in the Langevin Block.

Secrecy around equipment programs and how the Defence Department spends tax dollars has grown significantly under the Conservatives.

In May, Defence Minister Peter MacKay pleaded with industry representatives to get the word out that military purchases were good for the Canadian economy. But industry officials note that it is often MacKay's office and other government representatives, such as the Privy Council Office, preventing firms from discussing projects.

In this case however, the Harper crowd may really be trying to hide more than their own gross incompetence. Defence and aerospace industry insiders are suspicious that the SAR aircraft "competition" simply isn't and that the process has been rigged. That makes even more sense when you consider the ass-backwards methodology that has been used to proceed with this equipment purchase.

MacKay announced in December 2008 that he would be going to cabinet asking for up to $3 billion for SAR aircraft replacement and that he had the proposal in front of him. Given that this procurement is now five years behind schedule (all deliverables were to have been in the hands of the Canadian Forces by 2009) this has become a pure off-the-shelf purchase. No new airplane will emerge from this. That would suggest that whatever specifications were issued to and approved by MacKay (and cabinet), they already exist in at least one specific aircraft at an estimated cost of which the Harper government is fully aware.

In short, yesterday's half-assed dog and pony show was a smoke screen for one of two things:

Either the Harper government has no actual idea of what they want from industry in terms of a fixed-wing SAR aircraft, or;

The Harper government has already made their choice and this Request For Proposals or "competition" is simply a theatrical performance to mollify the well-founded suspicions of the Canadian aerospace industry.

On thing is clear however: The Harper Conservatives, usually dancing around the podium whenever they announce a big-buck purchase, are trying to hide something, as evidenced when they shut the media out of yesterday's "briefing".

Incompetence or duplicity. Spin the wheel. Those are the choices.

More at Accidental Deliberations.