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But Williams said that without hands-on control from the federal government, the project is certain to run into major problems. In previous major defence procurements, it is the government that selects a winning bidder, he added.

Williams, however, said even though the federal government is playing a background role, it will still ultimately be responsible if and when the surface combatant program runs into trouble.

Originally, the program called for the acquisition of 15 ships for $26 billion.

That has changed, however, and the actual number of ships to be delivered has yet to be determined. Government officials have also estimated the cost of the ships could increase to $40 billion.

Procurement Minister Judy Foote has said taxpayers won’t be told the cost until at least 2019.

The Canadian Surface Combatant project is still in its early stages and construction is not expected to begin until the early 2020s, the government says.

The ship project was originally approved by the previous Conservative government, but almost from the beginning, there were questions as to whether the budget was enough.

The Liberals vowed during the election to reform defence procurement, pointing out, for instance, they would not purchase the F-35 stealth fighter and instead select a less costly jet to replace the military’s CF-18s. The savings from that would be pumped into the shipbuilding program, which isn’t properly financed, the Liberals said at the time.

Defence analysts, however, have questioned whether such a move would provide any savings to transfer to shipbuilding. They also point out the Liberals have reversed their election promise and will now hold a competition for new jets, one that the F-35 will be invited to take part in.

• Email: dpugliese@postmedia.com | Twitter: davidpugliese