Defence minister marks start of new warship fleet construction

In Halifax today, Defence Minister Bill Blair is marking the start of construction on Canada's next generation of warships. The project has been more than a decade in the making, and the new vessels will replace the Navy's aging frigates and destroyers. And today we are here to be in a new chapter in the proud history of the Royal Canadian Navy. Today we are officially launching construction for the Canadian Service Combatant Project and this project is going to deliver a new fleet of 15 warships for the Royal Canadian Navy. It is the largest shipbuilding initiative that Canada has undertaken since the Second World War. CB CS Brett Ruskin is covering today's construction kick off and joins us live from the Halifax Shipyard. Brett, what more can you tell us about the project and what the minister is saying? Yeah, Natasha, let me give you a quick little view, preview or tour inside here. So you can see kind of a media scrum that had been taking place here that is kind of packing up. That's where the news conference and where the announcement took place. And you can see the kind of the curvature there of that vessel that is one of the A OPS ships, the Arctic and Offshore Patrol ships. So this isn't the new surface combatants that we're talking about, but it gives you an idea of kind of the size and the scale and the scope and the complexity of these vessels. And the ones that have been announced today are even much, much bigger than that one there that cross section. So these surface combatants are going to replace the frigates that are still operating in the long since retired destroyers of Canada had been operating as well. And we heard today that they were part of, they were going to be named the river class of vessels. So the first vessel is going to be called HMCS Fraser based on the Fraser River that flows into the Pacific Ocean. Also, we're going to have HMCS saint-laurent based on the Saint Lawrence River that flows into the Atlantic. And the third vessel coming off the line is going to be HMCS Mackenzie based in the Mackenzie River that flows up into the Arctic. So some interesting symbolisms, interesting national pride for Canada being built into these vessels already and being built by folks who are here in Halifax but have come here to Halifax for work and jobs is one of the main benefits, one of the major benefits, I suppose, from this announcement. So here is Minister Bill Blair talking about some of the jobs created by this work. Now this investment is going to deliver obviously for the Royal Canadian Navy and our National Defense, but it also delivers results for Canadians and perhaps most importantly for Canadian workers throughout the entire 25 year construction period. We expect that this project is going to create and sustain more than 10,000 jobs and generate over $40 billion for the Canada's gross domestic product. And so lots of money there, lots of effects and benefits there listed. You heard the kind of 25 year time frame. So just to break that down in more details, they expect 9 vessels to be built by the year 2040, the balance of vessels. So I think 6 more, I suppose rebuilt by the year 2050. And the first one should be done by the early twenty 30s, which we've hearing that is around 2033. So that's the timeline for these ships. Natasha, let's talk about the ships that are going to be built there. How much of the design is finalized? You know, it's based on the Type 26 vessel. So that's a a British vessel that the Brits are making, that the Australians are making as well. And each time one is built, they get customized a little bit. Different modules, different weapon systems, different radars. So they're still sorting out exactly what's going to be on the Canadian versions of the ships and exactly how they're going to fit into one another. So that's the next thing to watch. The official construction contract that we hear should be signed by the end of the this year. Natasha CB, CS Brett Ruskin in Halifax. Thank you, Brett.