Industry optimistic as Defence Investment Agency pursues new business model, but questions remain
The Canadian government is proposing to transform its Defence Investment Agency into a Crown corporation to improve procurement efficiency. While industry stakeholders are optimistic about the potential for faster operations, concerns persist regarding the agency's current focus on large-scale contracts that exclude smaller businesses.
Why it matters
This structural change could significantly alter how Canada manages its military supply chain and interacts with the private sector during a period of global geopolitical urgency.
New legislation to transform Ottawa’s Defence Investment Agency into a Crown corporation is a positive step, industry members say, but concerns about slow-moving procurement remain as the agency pursues a new business model.
A ballroom inside of the Halifax Convention Centre was packed on Wednesday afternoon, as Wendy Hadwen, assistant deputy minister of policy and industry who recently moved into the DIA, got up on stage to talk about the progress her agency has made and answer questions from stakeholders.
“We have no time,” she said in her opening remarks. “It is a situation that is quite urgent, and Canada must now quickly become the kind of country that can marry up its industrial advantages with its operational needs, put them together in line with the defence demand signal, and get out in the world, compete and win.”
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