Canada's DND Procurement Efficiency

"The C19 Ranger Rifle remains an effective and accurate weapon, and it continues to be used by the Canadian Rangers without any safety issues."

Cheryl Forrest, DND spokesperson 

 

"The performance requirements detailed performance against specific environmental conditions [cold, wet, etc.], and the C19 met these criteria."

"Therefore, Colt Canada fulfilled its contractual requirements, based on what was asked. There are no warranties that addresses the current issue being faced."

"[The issue] only became apparent and reported after extended field usage in extreme climatic conditions leading to cycles of expansion and contraction in the stock."

"This was not observed during Initial Operational Capability training; it only became apparent in the last two months before the end of deliveries."

DND spokesperson Alex Tetreault

A Canadian Ranger handles the military's new C-19 rifle. Photo by CORPORAL MARC-ANDRÉ LECLERC /CANADIAN ARMED FORCES

 

The Canadian Department of National Defence signed a contract with Colt Canada for $32.8 million in cost for 7,000 C-19 rifles to be provided to the Canadian Rangers; servicemen/women of aboriginal stock living in remote, isolated coast communities across Canada, and operating as a component of the Canadian Armed Forces. They have specific assigned tasks to fulfill, including:

 

Canadian Rangers conduct and provide support to sovereignty operations such as reporting suspicious and unusual activities as well as collecting local information of military significance.

Canadian Rangers conduct and provide assistance to CAF domestic operations such as providing local knowledge and expertise (i.e. advice and guides) or participating in search and rescue operations.

Canadian Rangers maintain a CAF presence in the local community through instruction, mentoring, and supervision of youth in the Junior Canadian Rangers Program.

 

The arms they had originally been supplied with were long outdated and badly in need of replacement. With their usual lack of efficiency in defence procurement, the 7,000 C-19 rifles supplied to the Rangers by National Defence turned out to be defective. Distributed to the Ranger units in 2018, reports from the Rangers indicated that the stocks on the rifles were incapable of surmounting problems with moisture, with the wood stock laminations not only bleeding colour but peeling off their lamination.

 

Canadian Rangers Training Course  DND

In handling the new rifles it became almost immediately apparent that their use in rain caused military personnel to see their hands lathered in red dye. The original contract stipulated that the rifles had to withstand extreme Arctic cold, including moderate-to-high humidity in coastal and forested areas of the country, where in fact the Rangers are tasked to operate. The one-year warranty that came with the bolt-action rifles has long since expired.

 

Despite which, the procurement arm of the Department of National Defence has turned to Colt Canada to expedite repairs to the weapon ... at additional taxpayers' cost. The original contract was for a weapon that was meant to be an improved version of the SAKO Finland, Tika T3 rifle. Which itself replaced the Lee Enfield .303 rifle, the mainstay weapon used since 1947 by the Canadian Rangers.

 

Now, after having been in circulation and use by the Rangers since 2018, replacement stocks for the C-19 will start to be delivered by the end of this year, when installation of the new stocks replacing the substandard originals will take place. So, if Ukraine has not taken up the offer to take possession of the 1947-era Lee Enfields, presumably they will be returned in the interim to the Rangers, while awaiting rectification of their brand-new, faulty replacements. 

 

DND records, obtained under the 'freedom of information' act, reveal through internal documents that Rangers had issued complaints during Initial Operational Capability training of the C-19s that failed to live up to its contract specifications, despite the disclaimer by DND spokesperson Tetreault. After a brief exposure to moisture, the problems with the faulty stocks were identified. Problems with the main firing component on the rifles were also documented at that time.

 

"Obviously from a health and safety perspective having dye released onto the skin is not a good situation", remarked Arthur Hall in 2018, with the Department's small arms program, in respect to the faulty C-19, making it obvious that issues with the rifle saw discussions occurring among DND officials. Complaints continued to arrive from Ranger units when the stocks began cracking. One officer assigned to the Rangers made note of having taken the new rifle out in the rain for a mere five minutes, then returning indoors.

 

"I held the weapon for approximately for 5 - 10 minutes and it started to stain my hand", wrote Capt. T.N. Collier, after noticing the new weapon was dripping red dye after his return indoors. Soldiers were vocal about the problem they were faced with, believing the Canadian Army and DND leadership had been misleading the public about the weapon's worthiness and how well taxpayer funding was being allocated in needed updates to Armed Forces weapons usefulness.

 

The Canadian military will be receiving new stocks for its ranger rifles after the old ones bled red dye. (Photo submitted by Canadian Forces) Photo by CANADIAN FORCES

"The issue is that when exposed to moisture the red dye in the stock will run, and will discolour the hands of the user."

"This is also an indication that the stocks are not properly protected from the elements."

Luke Foster, Directorate of Soldier Systems Program Management