Breaking New Ground—Stories from Defence Construction Breaking_new_ground | Page 63

Other changes were underway, too, including an
emphasis on bilingualism. Language training had begun
to be offered in the 1960s; in June 1973, Parliament
adopted the Official Languages Resolution, which
resulted in DCL identifying all of its positions as to
language requirements, and making arrangements so
that those requirements could be met.
In 1975, DCL received increased authority to enter
into and increase contracts without Treasury Board
approval, which reduced the time required to award
many construction contracts. Later in the decade, the
introduction of Short Tender Calls, intended to expedite
smaller contracts, also proved a timesaver. Used on a trial
basis in the Atlantic Region beginning on April 1, 1977,
they were so successful that they were adopted nationally
in January 1978.
In a 2007 interview, Alec Lawson described the DCL
approach:
If you know what the hell you’re doing and have a
person behind you that backs you, you can really
accomplish good things, serving your country. That was
the sort of atmosphere when I was there.
Alec recalled being sent to Halifax in the late 1970s to
troubleshoot a project that would see DCL and DND hit
with a $50,000 penalty from Lockheed Martin for every
day that the aircraft facilities weren’t completed. His
report asked DCL for $300,000 to get the job finished
on time—and Head Office agreed, saying that it was six
days’ worth of penalties, and that sometimes you had
to spend money to save money.
Alec also commented on the growth of the relationship
between DND and DCL, explaining that a much better
rapport existed between the two organizations in the
mid-1970s than there had been at the start in the
early 1950s.
DCL getting on with the job
During this period of reorganization and renewed
construction tempo, new recruits to DCL were quickly
brought up to speed and provided with both responsibility
and mentoring.
Ian Ashton, technical advisor, recalls his introductory
summer with DCL in Petawawa, between his first and
second years of an engineering degree:
I was impressed… with the degree of responsibility
entrusted to me and level of support I received… Back
then, everyone in the office, save the manager and the
secretary, was a well-seasoned tradesman. Each one
was full of technical know-how and flush with long
stories (that) usually contained some relevance to
the ongoing construction work… tricks of the trade,
shortcuts to watch out for and tough lessons they had
learned themselves.
Anticipating the next steps
In the mid-1970s, the federal Auditor General expressed
concern about the financial management and control of
Crown corporations. In 1976—eight years prior to such
committees being made man