A separate defence procurement agency

The acquisition announcements over the past few years have renewed the debate about whether or not Canada should follow the path chosen by some of our Allies and create a separate procurement organization within the Canadian government to deal specifically with defence projects. Allan Williams, a former Assistant Deputy Minister (Materiel) in the Department of National Defence (DND), is a strong proponent of the need for one agency; however, there are others who argue that the creation of a separate organization will not change the underlying problems. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. This paper examines the issue of creating a single procurement agency in Canada and argues that it will not fix the underlying problems that all developed nations experience with large complex military procurement projects: cost overruns; delayed deliveries; and equipment not meeting requirements.