CASR

Defence
Budget & 
Procurement
Practices 

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Notice  of
Proposed
Procurement
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MEUF  –  Leased Aircraft  –  MERX NPP / Contract Award  –  June 2009 An Aircraft Dry Lease Contract & the Multi-Engine Utility Flight, MERX Notice of Proposed Procurement and the Contract Award There are times when it is all but impossible for the average Canadian citizen to follow what DND is up to on their behalf. An incidental case in point is an Aircraft Dry Lease for 8 Wing, CFB Trenton. The Aircraft Dry Lease NPP  (and resulting Contract Award Notice) are clear enough. All seems above board and, at the contract end, probably is. Where DND repeatedly gets into trouble with its actual bosses – the citizenry and tax- payers of Canada – is in how the Department releases information. Like all government agencies, DND is obliged to make public all potential contract details and any contract awards.  Such notices are usually published on the online MERX listings. Often times, especially recently, such 'public' notices hold no details whatever. [1] Fortunately, this NPP is not one of those. Its title is self-explanatory and its requirements laid out in one paragraph. However, that NPP title seems intentionly detached  from related contracts. Around the same time that this NPP for Aircraft Dry Lease was being issued, DND's construction wing,  DCC, issued tenders for temporary buildings for a  'Multi-Engine Utility Flight' at Trenton. And now, 2 months later, the MND has officially announced the existance of an MEUF already up and running. This begs the question, did  DCC know the actual nature of  a new unit it was preparing a hangar for while DND and the Air Force did not? That seems unlikely. Probably this muddle is about 'optics'. Perhaps  8 Wing  PaffOs wanted to wait to make a splash complete with Minister's announcement. More likely, both NPP approach and the MEUF name itself are meant to camouflage the unit's nature. Obviously, any utility flights will be a very minor part of the MEUF's role. As the NPP makes clear, training is key. Serving CF multi-engine pilots will  be able to keep practiced in IFR flying without racking up the hours on any new, large, and tremendously expensive transport aircraft. The rationale makes sense. But the last impression that the Air Force wants to give the taxpayer is that  DND has spent billions on procuring and then accommodating overly large aircraft that it really can't afford to fly all that often  let alone house and maintain. [1]  Other times,  MERX notices contain nothing more than a list of  NATO NSN stock numbers  –  intelligible to potential suppliers but intentionally useless to the citizenry. The NPP  (in its revised form)  is reproduced below, edited for brevity.  Below the NPP is the MERX Contract Award Notice for the Aircraft Dry Lease, also edited for brevity. ________________________________________ Aircraft Dry Lease [MEUF  Multi-Engine Utility Flight] – MERX NPP Notice [Notice of Proposed Procurement] ________________________________________ Reference Numbers              PW-$WPG-080-6550 Solicitation Numbers           W3999-08M555/C Organization Name               Public Works and Government Services Canada                                                  Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada Source ID                               FD.DP.QC.10077.C2 Associated Components     Yes Dates Published     2009-01-09 Revised        2009-02-10 Closing         2009-02-10  02:00 PM  Central Daylight Saving Time  CDT Details Category     Transportation, Travel and Relocation Services GSINS          AIRCRAFT AND GLIDER DRY LEASES Region of Delivery            Ontario Region of Opportunity     — Agreement Type                Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) Tender Type                       Notice of  Proposed Procurement (NPP) Estimated Value                  — Solicitation Method           — Notice Description Aircraft Dry Lease Trade Agreement: Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) Tendering Procedures: The bidder must supply Canadian goods and/or services Attachment: None Competitive Procurement Strategy: Best Overall Proposal Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of  Requirements: Aircraft Dry Lease   [...] [DND] requires the dry lease of two (2) Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) equipped aircraft, currently planned for use at Wing Operation, 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario. The period of the contract is for five years from contract award. The aircraft will be flown locally and across CANADA and  the continental  United States on Instrument/Visual Flying pro- ficiency and transport missions. Experienced Transport and newly qualified [Canadian Forces] pilots will operate the aircraft. THERE IS A SECURITY REQUIREMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS REQUIREMENT. The requirement is limited to Canadian goods and/or services.  [...] Closing Date: February 10, 2008, 14:00.  [...] Leopard 2 CAD model NPP (as published on the MERX website) is reproduced below. ________________________________________ Aircraft Dry Lease [MEUF  Multi-Engine Utility Flight] MERX Contract Award Notice [for Aircraft Dry Lease] ________________________________________ Contract Number                  W3999-08M555/001/WPG Reference Number                PW-$WPG-080-6550 Solicitation Number             W3999-08M555/C Dates Closed          — Awarded      2009-03-30 Published     2009-03-31 Contract End Date   — Details Award Type                      Award Notice GSIN                                   V203A GSINS                                 AIRCRAFT AND GLIDER DRY LEASES Region of Delivery            Ontario Amount                               $11,523,540.00 CAD Solicitation Method           — Description Trade Agreement:   WTO-AGP/NAFTA/AIT Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement:   No Notification Method:   Public Advertising   (MERX/GBO) Contract Award Procedure (Procurement Strategy):   Best Overall Proposal GSIN Description: Aircraft and Glider Dry Leases Quantity: 1 Supplier Information AERO SUPPORT CANADA Inc. 580 Sovereign Road London   Ontario N5V4K7  Canada Buyer Information DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE P.O.BOX 17000 STN FORCES WINNIPEG   MB R3J3Y5   CAN