Dear CCPA subscriber,

Today we released the latest in our Foreign Policy Series — a report called "No Bang for the Buck: Military contracting and public accountability," by Steven Staples. The news release follows below, and as always, you can download the report free from our website at www.policyalternatives.ca.

I am also pleased to let you know that video footage from the SOS Medicare conference is now available online, including a speech by Stephen Lewis. See below for a list of all the sessions you can watch. Thank you to CPAC for making this available.

Finally, for those of you who received a message in the last few days dated December 6, 2006, please accept our apologies. A programming error in our newsletter system caused the archived message to be sent out. The problem has been fixed, and your should not receive any more repeats of old messages.

Sincerely,
Bruce Campbell, Executive Director
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Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives l News Release
For immediate release: June 11, 2007

"No Bang for the Buck" report finds that forty percent of military contracts are "non-competitive"

(Ottawa) Federal spending on multi-billion dollar military contracts has been mired in complaints of improper conduct as the government embarks on its $17 billion build-up of aircraft, helicopters, warships and vehicles.

A study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives called "No Bang for the Buck: Military contracting and public accountability" supports the frequently heard charges of unfair competitions. It found that the government itself has classified more than 40 percent of the nearly 20,000 National Defence contracts awarded in FY2006-07 as "non-competitive."

Even more, the percentage of public dollars spent on "non-competitive" military contracts has doubled in the last two years, according to the study which examined thousands of federal contracts reported in the Business Access Canada’s publicly available Contract History database.

"This report raises the alarm on the use of public dollars, and the need for greater transparency and federal accountability in military contracting," said Bruce Campbell, Executive Director of the CCPA.

The report has four main conclusions:

• The government should not sign any new major military contracts pending reports by the Auditor General and the Commons Standing Committee on National Defence, expected by the end of the year.
• Ministers involved in defence procurement, especially the Defence Minister, should have at least a five-year separation from the employ of any government contractors.
• The Defence Minister should be given clear responsibility for defence procurement.
• A new parliamentary standing committee should be established with responsibility for defence procurement and monitoring programs.

"This study shows that when fair competition and Parliamentary oversight are exercised, soldiers get better, more effective equipment, sooner and cheaper," said Steven Staples, the author of the report and Director of the Rideau Institute on International Affairs.

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For media interviews, contact Bruce Campbell, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives t. (613) 563-1341 x302, or Steven Staples, report author and Director of the Rideau Institute on International Affairs, t. (613) 565-9449 c. (613) 290-2695

Download the report at www.policyalternatives.ca

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