Canadian national security concerns delay court battle over New Zealand warship upgrades
A prolonged court battle over upgrades to a pair of New Zealand navy warships in Canada is now facing years of potential delays as the Attorney General of Canada reviews hundreds of thousands of documents in the case over national security concerns.
The New Zealand government inked a deal in 2014 with Lockheed Martin Canada to install new weapons and surveillance systems aboard Her Majesty's New Zealand ships Te Mana and Te Kaha. The two ships make up the entirety of the country's frigate fleet and the upgrades are intended to extend the life of the warships into the mid-2030s.
Lockheed subcontracted part of the work to Seaspan Shipyards in Victoria in 2018. But two years later, the shipyard filed a lawsuit against Lockheed in B.C. Supreme Court, alleging that problems with the company's designs had cost the shipyard more than $20 million in delays and workarounds on the first ship alone.
Lockheed responded with a counterclaim, alleging the delays were due to negligence, understaffing and mismanagement at the Victoria shipyard, and had set the company back tens of millions of dollars.
Both ships were due to return to New Zealand in 2020. The upgraded Te Kaha was returned in December 2020, nine months after its planned completion date, while the Te Mana remains in Victoria, more than eight years after the modernization contract was awarded.
200,000 PAGES, 'ONE HOUR PER PAGE'
In a decision published Thursday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered an amended case plan to allow for delays as the attorney general's office reviews hundreds of thousands of pages of court submissions for potential redactions of sensitive national security information.
"The process often takes a number of years," judge Sandra Wilkinson wrote in her decision. "The COVID-19 pandemic has made examination of the documents by the relevant AGC [Attorney General of Canada] staff and agency members difficult, since the documents cannot be electronically transmitted and review must take place in person."
The review falls under Sec. 38 of the Canada Evidence Act, which prevents the disclosure in court of confidential information related to national security and international relations without the consent of the attorney general.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti's office has "informed the court that initial review of each document [will] take one hour per page," Wilkinson wrote. "And there are approximately 200,000 pages to examine."
The attorney general has already confirmed that "a number of documents" provided for an initial review "contain injurious information," the judge wrote.
The documents in question are central to the legal claims of both Lockheed and Seaspan Victoria Shipyards, and both parties have been authorized to communicate directly with the attorney general on the Sec. 38 review, according to the court.
Wilkinson also directed the companies to provide quarterly updates on the review process beginning at the end of June.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.