Surprise, surprise: The Canadian Armed Forces' pistol procurement is delayed again

In a twist that should surprise absolutely nobody, the Canadian Armed Forces' pistol procurement plan is on hold, again. The Ottawa Citizen reports the tender process is now delayed for months, while the CAF decides how to deal with a complaint from Ottawa-based Rampart International.

Rampart International handles Glock's military and police distribution in Canada.

The issue is based in the Department of Defense's tender for a new modular pistol (For a full run-down of DND's desired features and specs, visit the procurement page here. Click on the "attachments.zip" file. Once downloaded, find the "PISTOL TECHNICAL AND PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION" document). Rampart says the government's tender favours design types which have no operational superiority over other designs. As a result, competing pistol manufacturers are being favoured, believes Glock.

So, we're not exactly back to Square One here, but Public Services and Procurement Canada is now evaluating this situation. The department told interested parties they cannot submit their bids until October 1, 2021. Originally, those bids were due on August 3. The feds planned to award the contract in December.

It's just the latest setback in a Monty Pythonesque saga, with the Canadian military unable to source a new service pistol despite originally starting the process years ago. Currently, Canadian soldiers use Browning Hi-Power pistols, a design that dates back to the 1920s. Many of the pistols are of much more recent manufacture, but they're still well-known for unreliability. But, the federal government seems in no hurry to replace them.

This time, the new pistols were supposed to be delivered at some point in 2022. With this latest delay, military users have to now be wondering if the contract will ever be filled at all, or just kicked down the road in the midst of another election and more rounds of politicking.

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