WRITER PROFILE
After holding senior positions at INAC, Mr. Williams was then appointed Assistant Deputy Minister, Supply Operations at PWGSC where he was responsible for ensuring the fairness, transparency and integrity of the procurement process. Appointed Assistant Deputy Minister (Materiel) at DND in 1999, he was responsible for ensuring effective materiel acquisitions for both DND and the Canadian Forces. Retiring from the public Service in April 2005, Mr. Williams is now President of The Williams Group, providing expertise in the areas of policy, programs and procurement.
Articles by this writer
Former ADM (materiel), Alan Williams, takes a critical look at the Canadian Surface Combatant procurement from the taxpayer's perspective. Comparing costs and quotes on similar projects from other countries, he finds that Canadian taxpayers are paying 2-3 times more for the CSC ships under the project management of Irving Shipbuilding.
Former head of defence procurement at Canada's Department of National Defence, made the following remarks at the Standing Committee of National Defence hearing on 16 June 2023. He says the capital costs of Canada’s new fighter jets and surface combatant ships will exceed $100 billion dollars over a 10-year period, and could effectively bankrupt the Canadian Armed Forces unless new monies are injected.
For a procurement to be legal, it must comply with both the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) and the Government’s Contract Regulations (GCR).
A clear illustration of how the NSPS for CSC has gone overboard in complexity, lacks transparency, and involves a process that puts contenders’ IP at risk.
The government has decided to offload all accountability to the private sector, why?
A look at performance measures, the major problems with the procurement process, and appropriate steps to fix it.
In large weapon purchases, it's time to consider a better way to choose. The BAFO option is gaining support.
The government has abdicated its role as procurement authority and allowed the shipyards to determine who is entitled to the billions of taxpayer’s money.
I fell into the trap of believing that there was truly a desire to change the system.
Canada can leverage defence expenditures to ensure continued industrial development and job creation. Now is the time for action.
Defence procurement is critical to defence capability.
On the world scene, emerging threats to security, coupled with the rapid pace of technological change, meant our procurement decisions were becoming more critical than ever. Increasingly, our military success depended on deployment speed, interoperability with allies, and leading edge equipment.
