Noakes, J D (2005) Under the radar: Defence Construction (1951) Limited and military infrastructure in Canada, 1950–1965. PhD thesis, Carleton University, Canada.
Abstract
Established in 1950 as an element of Canada's Cold War rearmament, Defence Construction (1951) Limited, or DCL, was created as an agency to tender and supervise construction contracts for the Department of National Defence, a function it fulfills to this day. Such use of a Crown corporation was characteristic of Minister of Defence Production C. D. Howe and his often expedient and pragmatic approach to meeting policy objectives. In its first fifteen years, DCL helped make possible the construction of $1. 5 billion in defence infrastructure, including three major radar lines, two in northern Canada. The corporation also played a role in helping the Canadian government implement civilian projects at home and abroad. Using an extensive collection of corporate and related government records at the agency itself, at Library and Archives Canada, and at the Department of National Defence's Directorate of History and Heritage, this dissertation examines the corporation's history as an effective and flexible instrument of government policy. Adjunct to this function, DCL helped represent the interests of the Canadian construction industry in the provision of Cold War infrastructure. By the end of the 1950s, the corporation, working in conjunction with other government agencies, had managed to ensure that American and joint Canadian-American defence projects built in Canada would use Canadian construction firms drawing on Canadian suppliers. This dissertation also encompasses and examines themes related to Canada's northern Cold War from 1950-65. National defence, sovereignty, economic development, the expansion of Ottawa's influence and control over northern Canada, and relations with the United States all played a role in shaping the environment in which DCL operated, and were in turn influenced by events and projects that DCL had a role in shaping. An examination of the history of DCL between 1950 and 1965, therefore, also provides a useful prism for examining these issues. Aside from these issues, the corporation's history is also an revealing case study of a Crown corporation and its utility as an instrument of government policy; in many respects DCL served as Ottawa's "Cold War handyman. "
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Canada; United States; case study; construction firms; economic development; government; heritage; policy |
| Index terms: | construction contract, war, government policy, construction industry, dissertation, case study, Canada, agency, history, government agency, United States, economic development, construction firm, drawing |
| Subjects: | economic development, Geography, conflict and crisis studies, research dissemination and communication, organization, contract type, public policy, sociology, industry analysis, administrative law, data collection methods, technical documentation, architectural and construction history |
| Topics: | Governance, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Design Practice, Procurement, Sustainability, Geographical Context, Legal Issues |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here