Feds rebuff French-Italian warship proposal

OTTAWA — The federal government sought to keep its multibillion-dollar plan to build new warships for the navy from capsizing on Tuesday by shooting down a joint proposal from two of the world’s largest shipbuilders.

The companies, Paris-based Naval Group and Italian firm Fincantieri, came out last week with claims they could replace the navy’s frigates and destroyers with 15 new ships faster and for much less than anyone else.

The Trudeau government has said it expects the new ships to cost between $56 billion and $60 billion, with construction by Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax to start until 2021.

The French-Italian consortium says it could start construction as early as 2019 and that building the ships in Europe would cost $20 billion. It says the full cost to build in Canada would depend on talks with Irving.

On Tuesday, the federal procurement agency said it would not consider the companies’ offer because they did not follow the proper process for submitting proposals.

The government launched a competition last year in which defence and shipbuilding firms were asked to design potential replacements for the navy’s frigates and destroyers.

Sources said the government received three submissions before the deadline for that competition last Thursday.

Naval Group and Fincantieri did not submit a formal proposal. Instead, the companies appear to be using a lobbying campaign to sell their proposal.

In its statement, Public Services and Procurement Canada stated categorically that proposals outside the established competition would not be considered.

“The submission of an unsolicited proposal at the final hour undermines the fair and competitive nature of this procurement,” the statement said.