Key DND bureaucrat hired by Airbus partner
PAL Aerospace part of $4.7B aircraft contract
The Defence Department’s associate deputy minister, who previously oversaw procurement, is going to work for one of the main companies involved in the winning bid for a search-and-rescue aircraft contract worth as much as $4.7 billion.
John Turner is currently associate deputy minister at the Department of National Defence, and from 2012 to 2015 was assistant deputy minister for materiel, the branch that oversaw the military’s effort to acquire new search-and-rescue aircraft.
He has accepted a position with PAL Aerospace, a key partner in the Airbus consortium that on Dec. 8 was awarded the contract to provide the military with 16 new fixed-wing search-andrescue planes.
The initial contract, including in-service support provided by PAL, is worth $2.4 billion, the federal government says, but could climb to $4.7 billion as longterm support is factored into the deal.
DND officials confirmed that Turner will go directly from the department to his new employment at PAL.
On its website, DND described Turner’s current position as being “responsible to the Deputy Minister of the Department of National Defence for files related to procurement, information management and technology, defence renewal, search and rescue, and other files as may be assigned by the Deputy Minister.”
Turner was not available for comment, DND said. But DND spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said the office of Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson confirmed the Conflict of Interest Act doesn’t prevent Turner from taking the new job.
“The Department of National Defence has no concerns with Mr. Turner’s upcoming employment,” said Le Bouthillier. “We are satisfied that all appropriate steps were taken prior to accepting the position and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavours.”
Turner leaves his job at DND on March 17 and reports for work at PAL on April 3 as vice-president of operations.
But Turner’s move from the department to a firm involved in a multi-billion dollar contract with his organization has raised eyebrows in Canada’s defence industry, which has its share of retired officers and DND staff.
The awarding of the fixedwing search-and-rescue contract to Airbus is being challenged in Federal Court by the losing bidder, the Italian aerospace firm Leonardo, which claims the contract was awarded unfairly.
Sources say Leonardo still has yet to decide whether to use Turner’s new job with PAL in its legal arguments.
Leonardo’s legal action aims to have the court overturn the award of the contract Airbus. It has argued that the Airbus plane, the C295W, is more costly than its C-27J aircraft and cannot adequately fulfil search-andrescue missions, particularly in the Arctic.
Nicolas Boucher, a spokesman for Public Services and Procurement Canada, said the department can’t comment on the Airbus contract because the case is before the courts, but said a fairness monitor was used on the aircraft procurement and did not report any issues.
In a statement Airbus noted it is limiting its comments because of the legal case but pointed out its aircraft meets all the requirements Canada established.
Le Bouthillier said Turner followed all guidelines under the Conflict of Interest Act, which included disclosing the job offer to the commissioner. “It is worth noting Public Services and Procurement Canada oversees the bid evaluation of the process, and that PAL worked with Airbus directly, not with the government of Canada, on FWSAR,” he said. “Consequently, as Associate Deputy Minister at DND, Mr. Turner did not have any role in the evaluation that led to the selection of the Airbus DS proposal.”
Le Bouthillier noted it was Airbus, not the government, which selected PAL as its partner to service the new planes.
Steve Dinn, PAL’s vice president, said the company is looking forward to Turner’s arrival. “We look forward to John’s leadership as we continue our focus on export and international growth opportunities,” Dinn said.