Contract will help create and support over 120 jobs and economic growth in the Kitchener-Waterloo region
June 23, 2015
KITCHENER, ONTARIO — The Honourable Julian Fantino, Associate Minister of National Defence, today announced that Colt Canada has been awarded a $1.5 million contract to replace the Canadian Ranger’s Lee Enfield rifle. This contract will provide the Canadian Rangers with the opportunity to test the new rifle design over the summer. Following the testing period, and any necessary design amendments, a second contract will be awarded to Colt Canada to produce 6500 rifles, which will be phased into use by the Rangers between mid-2016 and late-2019.
The Canadian Rangers, a sub-component of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Reserve, provide patrols and detachments for national-security and public-safety missions in sparsely settled northern, coastal and isolated areas of Canada. They are considered the “eyes and ears” of Canada’s Arctic and contribute greatly to the Canadian Armed Forces’ ability to assert sovereignty in Canada’s north.
Ashlee Smith
Director of Communications to the Associate Minister of National Defence
Department of National Defence
613-996-3100
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