Ottawa plans Crown corporation to break defence procurement logjam
The Liberal government plans to transform its year-old Defence Investment Agency into a Crown corporation, giving it greater independence and potentially sweeping powers to accelerate military purchases. The proposed overhaul could fundamentally reshape Canada's notoriously cumbersome defence procurement system, while raising fresh questions about oversight, accountability and how far Ottawa will go.
Legislation expected to transform Defence Investment Agency into independent body
Murray Brewster · CBC News
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The Liberal government plans to turn the fledgling Defence Investment Agency (DIA) into a Crown corporation in order to move military purchases along more swiftly, two federal sources tell CBC News.
The move will potentially give Ottawa substantially more freedom to run defence procurement like a specialized commercial enterprise rather than as a conventional government program.
The confidential sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, said it's expected the Crown corporation would report to an associate minister of defence for public accountability purposes.
The DIA was created just over a year ago and has functioned as a special agency under Public Services and Procurement Canada. Legislation giving the defence agency broader powers to bypass the decades-old procurement system was put before the House of Commons in the spring and has yet to pass.
However, Public Works Minister Joël Lightbound plans on introducing new, separate legislation taking the DIA one step further into independent Crown corporation status. The title of the proposed bill has appeared in House of Commons documents.
Many defence experts agree the biggest advantage to making the agency a Crown corporation is operational independence. While details of the new legislation haven't been released, it's expected the agency could have its own board, CEO, corporate plan and workforce.
For the Canadian Armed Forces, the attraction of dealing with a Crown corporation for its equipment rests in the possibility that what it orders could arrive faster.
Prime Minister Mark Carney made speeding up defence procurement an important campaign promise in the 2025 election.
When the first bill to formally create the DIA was tabled earlier this year it gave the new agency sweeping powers.
For decades, the federal government could use four exceptions to suspend the normal procurement process.
In the spring, the government proposed to allow up to 14 exceptions, including procurements of national interest. It also made economic security a key pillar of the DIA mandate.
How those measures will be reflected in the Crown corporation and whether it will have even greater authority is unclear.
Both Defence Minister David McGuinty and Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr are scheduled to hold a media availability on Tuesday to answer questions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Murray Brewster is the senior defence writer for CBC News, based in Ottawa. He has covered the Canadian military and foreign policy from Parliament Hill for over a decade. Among other assignments, he spent a total of 15 months on the ground covering the Afghan war for The Canadian Press. Prior to that, he covered defence issues and politics for CP in Nova Scotia for 11 years and was bureau chief for Standard Broadcast News in Ottawa.
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