US embassy cable - 04HALIFAX191

UNCLAS HALIFAX 000191 
 
SIPDIS 
 
JOINT STAFF FOR US SEC PJBD 
STATE FOR WHA/CAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MOPS, PREL, PTER, ETRD, CA, Bill Graham, Canadian Military 
SUBJECT: MARITIME HELICOPTER ANNOUNCEMENT NEARLY OVERSHADOWS HMCS 
TORONTO HOMECOMING 
 
REF: HALIFAX 0010 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  The new Defense Minister hit the ground running by 
announcing a decision in favor of Sikorsky on the long-delayed 
maritime helicopter replacement program.  He also welcomed home 
HMCS Toronto, which returned to a tumultuous welcome in Halifax 
after a six-month deployment with a U.S. strike force in the 
Persian Gulf.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.   Newly-appointed Minister of National Defense Bill Graham 
ended years of waiting by announcing that Canada had decided to 
select the Sikorsky H-92 to replace the Air Force's 40-year old 
Sea King helicopters.  Graham, flanked by Nova Scotia Cabinet 
members Geoff Regan and Scott Brison, made the announcement at 
Halifax's CFB Shearwater, where many of the new choppers will be 
based.  COMMENT:  Graham, who told CG he appreciated the 
Secretary's thoughtfulness in calling him to congratulate him on 
 
SIPDIS 
his new job, seemed happy to be in his new portfolio, and the 
military brass seemed comfortable with him and happy that he was 
not a newcomer to security policy.  One noted that Graham had 
been a naval reservist, had visited Canadian troops in 
Afghanistan and other places and understood how stretched the 
military really was.  END COMMENT. 
 
3.  Shortly after the announcement, Graham and CDS Ray Henault 
joined military families and senior military officers and 
civilians, including CG, in a rousing ceremony to welcome home 
HMCS Toronto, returning after a six-month deployment in the Gulf 
with the USS George Washington Strike Group.  In remarks to the 
crew broadcast as the ship was steaming into Halifax harbor, 
Chief of Maritime Staff Ron Buck praised Toronto's contribution 
to the war on terrorism and to "defending our way of life." 
Asked later about when the next Canadian frigate would deploy to 
the Gulf, VADM Buck said he thought it would be around October, 
but that a final decision had not been made. 
 
4.  Waiting for Toronto to pull up to the dock, VADM Buck told 
CG that he expected EH Industries to challenge the award of the 
contract to Sikorsky, possibly through litigation, but he said 
the decision was clearly "the right helicopter for the right 
price" and would withstand any appeals or lawsuits.  He also 
suggested that DND was much more comfortable with Sikorsky's 
approach to customer service, and that EHI had not helped itself 
in the competition with its attitude in this area.  Other senior 
military officers with whom CG spoke expressed relief that a 
decision had finally been made and said they were pleased that 
Cabinet had acted early in the new government's mandate to 
address a long-overdue requirement.  Buck and others said they 
were hopeful that the Martin government would address a number 
of other crying resource needs for the Canadian Forces. 
Fisheries Minister Regan echoed that point, saying that it was a 
good sign that the new Cabinet had decided to buy a U.S.-built 
helicopter as one of its first items of business.  He said it 
showed that the Prime Minister was serious about re-building 
defense capabilities, and working with the  U.S. 
 
5.  In addition to providing desperately-needed capabilities for 
the Canadian Forces, the helicopter program will breathe some 
new life into CFB Shearwater, which has been dying the death of 
a thousand cuts for years.  The most visible evidence of decline 
was the transfer this year of the annual fall air show to the 
Halifax International Airport since Shearwater's runway has 
become unsafe and the military could no longer afford to support 
the event.  Outgoing 12 Wing Commander told CG several months 
ago that once the announcement of the new helicopter was made 
the base would begin a construction program to build new 
training and maintenance facilities for the H-92.  He 
anticipated that the Sea King would be in service in parallel 
with the H-92 for up to five years, until all of the new 
aircraft were operational.  This will put a serious strain on 
Canadian Air Force staffing, since during the transition period 
the CAAF will have to have two sets of pilots, crews and 
maintenance staff. 
 
6.  COMMENT:  A good news day all around, with the successful 
completion of a lengthy deployment with U.S. forces and -- one 
hopes -- the successful conclusion of a procurement that has 
dragged on an embarrassingly long time.  It would be nice if 
this announcement presaged a period where government devoted the 
attention and resources to the Canadian Forces that they so 
badly need, but the Martin Team faces a lot of hard choices in 
coming months and unfortunately it is all too easy in Canada to 
kick military spending needs down the fiscal road rather than 
act on them.  END COMMENT.