Response to parliamentary committees and external audits

Response to parliamentary committees

In 2022-23, the Department of National Defence (DND) supported the work of multiple parliamentary committees. This included support to both committee studies and Government Responses related directly to the work of the Defence Team, as well as those to which DND contributed to whole-of-government efforts. Key examples can be found below.

House Standing Committee on National Defence (NDDN)

There were two reports and two Government Responses related to DND tabled with the House Standing Committee on National Defence in Fiscal Year 2022-23.

On June 16, 2022, the Committee tabled the following report: An Interim Report on The Defence of Canada in A Rapidly Changing Threat Environment. The report identified 14 recommendations and focused on the threats currently facing Canada, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the growing tensions between NATO and Russia, continental defence, and the current state of operational readiness of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

The Government Response was tabled on October 17, 2022.

On June 22, 2022, the Committee tabled the following report: Recruitment and Retention in the Canadian Armed Forces. In the report, the Committee listed 16 recommendations for DND, and highlighted key themes including culture change, diversity and inclusion, improving the recruitment process, the work of the DND/CAF Ombudsman, supports to military families, and easing the burden of service.

The Government Response was tabled on October 20, 2022.

House Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP)^{Footnote 1}

A Government Response is currently being prepared following the tabling of PACP’s report on the Greening Government Strategy in February 2023.

Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

Greening Government Strategy [PDF, 3.8 MB] – Report 2 | 2022 Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to the Parliament of Canada

The objective of this audit was to determine whether DND reported results that were supported by the implementation of internal controls and took appropriate measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their areas of responsibility.  The Auditor General concluded that the results on emission reductions reported by DND were supported by the Department’s implementation of internal controls and that the Department took appropriate measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their areas of responsibility. However, the Department did not have a risk management approach that defined significant risks and corresponding mitigation measures. DND’s emission reduction plan needs further information about the activities required to meet the 2050 net-zero target.

The recommendations in the report are as follows: continually identifying new activities that will significantly contribute to emission reductions, prioritizing them based on risk, and develop a risk management approach that defines significant risks and corresponding mitigation measures. DND accepts the recommendation and recognizes the need for increased prioritization and risk management. DND will formalize a risk management approach that is integrated with its Corporate Risk Profile. This will include identifying significant risks, options, and mitigations for senior management to consider.  By March 2023, DND will complete a roadmap to reduce real property greenhouse gas emissions by 90% of the 2005 baseline and attain a net-zero portfolio by 2050. The roadmap will identify opportunities and challenges to achieving net-zero along with associated costs and risks, by March 2024.

Arctic Waters Surveillance [PDF, 930 KB] – Report 6 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada

The objective of this audit was to determine whether key federal organizations built the maritime domain awareness required to respond to safety and security risks, and incidents associated with increased vessel traffic in Arctic waters. The Auditor General concluded that the federal organizations audited had not taken the action required to build the maritime domain awareness they collectively needed to respond to safety and security risks associated with increasing vessel traffic in Arctic waters.  While these organizations had identified gaps in maritime domain awareness, they had not taken sufficient measures to address them.  Moreover, some measures taken had progressed slowly and, in the case of the Marine Security Operations Centres, were not efficient. Furthermore, the existing satellite services and infrastructure did not provide the capacity that the federal organizations needed to perform surveillance of Arctic waters. Delays in the renewal of satellites, ships, and aircraft risks compromising the presence of these organizations in Arctic waters.

The recommendations in the report involve: DND, Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Canadian Coast Guard, work together in taking concrete actions to address the long-standing gaps in Arctic maritime domain awareness. Particularly in:

1. the ability to track vessels continuously and to identify non-emitting vessels;
2. barriers that prevent efficiently sharing and integrating relevant information about vessel traffic in Arctic waters; and
3. to address delays in the delivery of equipment to replace and improve the key federal capabilities used for maritime surveillance in the Canadian Arctic, mitigating the risk that several types of equipment may cease operating before being replaced.

Further, DND should identify options and take action to acquire equipment in a timely manner, develop and approve contingency plans to address the risk of having reduced surveillance capabilities in the event that key satellites, ships, or aircraft cease to operate before they are replaced.

To address these recommendations, DND will continue to engage with partners and central agencies as part of ongoing efforts to ensure continuous capability sustainment including, but not limited to, the timely acquisition of equipment. DND’s management action plans developed in response to the 2021 audit on the National Shipbuilding Strategy, identified a number of efforts currently underway to address the risks associated with surveillance vessels.

Response to reviews conducted by the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman (OPO)

Procurement practice review of the National Defence – Published May 2022

This review was undertaken to determine whether DND’s procurement practices pertaining to evaluation criteria and selection plans, solicitation, and conducting evaluations of bids and contract award, supported the principles of fairness, openness, and transparency. To make this determination, OPO examined whether DND’s procurement practices were consistent with Canada’s obligations under sections of applicable national and international trade agreements, the Financial Administration Act and regulations made under it, the Treasury Board Contracting Policy (TBCP) and, when present, departmental guidelines.

The recommendations in the report involve DND updating its procurement policies and training to ensure they direct that:

1. mandatory criteria are properly defined, measurable, not based on future compliance or unnecessarily restrictive, and bidders are informed of how the criteria can be met;
2. rated criteria include clear rating scales, align with the statement of work requirements, and not be unnecessarily restrictive; and 3) the Selection Methodology should be clearly explained and included in every solicitation. DND should update its procurement policies and training, as listed below, to ensure its bid solicitation processes:
   1. do not result in some suppliers being given an advantage over competitors through the uneven sharing of information;
   2. invite the right number of suppliers and provide all bidders with contact information, and the due date for the receipt of bids; and
   3. include measures to ensure the requirement to send regret letters is consistently implemented.  DND should update its procurement policies and training to require all evaluators, regardless of employment status, to assess and confirm they are not in a conflict-of-interest position prior to obtaining bid documentation and/or participating in the evaluation process.

DND should update its procurement policies and training to emphasize the following:

1. technical evaluators must strictly follow the solicitation’s evaluation plan and award contracts only to compliant bidders;
2. any compliance failure regarding a mandatory criterion, results in the immediate disqualification of the bid; and
3. evaluation results must be documented to fully explain how evaluators awarded points for rated evaluation criteria and determined compliance/non-compliance for mandatory evaluation criteria.  DND should update its procurement policies and training to ensure all solicitations include the entire requirement as known at the time of publication of the solicitation, and that unexpected amendments are minimized, taking into account DND’s operational requirements.

Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC):

The PSC did not complete any audits involving National Defence during FY 2022-23.

Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (OCOL):

The OCOL did not complete any audits of National Defence during FY 2022-23.