Article content continued

The navy, however, is waiting to hear whether the government wants to extend the submarines’ lives so they can operate until the 2030s. A decision needs to be made “in the next year or two,” Norman said, so the necessary funds — which previous reports have put between $1.5 billion and $3 billion — can be set aside.

“The decision is tied to the fact that if we want to plan for another cycle, we have to get that into the investment plan, and that has to be programmed,” he said. “So we need some sort of indication that we’re going to continue to operate the submarines.”

Norman made the comments to the Citizen about a week before he was due to turn over command of the navy after three years. He will become the vice chief of defence staff, the Canadian Armed Forces’ second-highest ranked officer, this week.

The interview also coincided with the Liberal government announcing a new plan for building new warships to replace the navy’s retiring destroyers and frigates — a plan that Norman believes has finally put the largest single military procurement project in Canadian history on the right path after years of delays.

If true, that would set the shipbuilding program apart from what is happening to the air force, which continues to struggle with efforts to replace Canada’s aging CF-18 fighter jets.

Norman admits there will be challenges before the Canadian surface combatants, as the new ships are known, roll off the line. That includes discussions about what capabilities the ships will have, how many will be built, and how much they will cost.