National Defence worked together with Public Works and Government Services Canada to fast-track the purchase of vehicles urgently needed to protect the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan against threats from improvised explosive devices, says the Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, in her Report tabled today in the House of Commons.
The audit found that in the four projects examined, the Department did not meet most of the requirements of its project approval guide, which is not well suited to urgent acquisitions.
“National Defence needs to develop a process geared to managing urgent acquisitions,” said Ms. Fraser. “It should also examine whether there are lessons from these projects that can be applied to its regular acquisitions.”
The audit also found that in three of the four projects, the vehicles were delivered to Afghanistan and National Defence has determined that they have met operational needs.
However, the fourth project is nearly two years behind schedule and is projected to cost at least double the amount originally approved by the government. There were also weaknesses in some of the information provided to those responsible for approving the projects.
