The military is running more quick-turnaround procurements that small firms can participate in, but may not suit the timelines of major contractors, Lt-Gen. Darcy Molstad, commander of Canadian Joint Forces Command, said at a Canadian Robotics Council event in Toronto on Monday. The Defence Department must also start testing and integrating fast-advancing technologies at earlier phases of development, rather than waiting for them to be perfected, said Kate Kaminska, director general of the new Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science (BOREALIS). (The Logic)

Talking point: As Ottawa ramps up defence spending, Canadian startups and small businesses have said the federal buying system remains too difficult to navigate. The officials speaking Monday acknowledged those challenges, and said the federal government is keen to buy good-enough technology and work with suppliers to improve it, rather than purchasing supposedly flawless pieces of kit for huge sums. While large defence contractors will continue to matter, “the primacy of primes is over,” Molstad said. But he also urged startups and small firms to figure out how they can scale up production to meet military needs if they do win the business of the Canadian Armed Forces.

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