You are now facing a prolonged legal battle over New Zealand Navy warships in Canada, with years of potential delays as the Canadian Attorney General reviews hundreds of thousands of documents in the case concerning national security concerns.

The New Zealand government signed a deal in 2014 with Lockheed Martin Canada to install new weapons and surveillance systems aboard the Majesty's New Zealand ships Te Mana and Te Kaha.

The upgrades aim to extend the warships' lifespan until the mid-2030s. Lockheed contracted part of the work with the Seaspan shipyards in Victoria in 2018.

But two years later, the shipyard filed a lawsuit against Lockheed in British Columbia.

The Supreme Court claimed that the company's design issues cost the shipyard more than $20 million in delays.

Lockheed responded with a counterclaim, alleging that the delays were due to negligence, understaffing, and mismanagement at the Victoria shipyard, causing losses of tens of millions of dollars for the company.

Both ships were scheduled to return to New Zealand in 2020, and the upgraded Te Kaha returned in December 2020, nine months past the planned completion date, while Te Mana remains in Victoria, more than eight years since the upgrade contract was awarded.

The Supreme Court judge ordered a modification of the case plan to allow for delays as the Attorney General's office reviews hundreds of thousands of pages of court requests for potential redaction of sensitive national security information.

Judge Sandra Wilkinson wrote in her decision: "The process often takes several years." "The COVID-19 pandemic has made document review by AGC [Canadian Attorney General] staff and agency members difficult, as documents cannot be transferred electronically and must be reviewed in person."

The review falls under Section 38 of the Canadian Evidence Act, which prohibits the disclosure in court of confidential information related to national security and international relations without the Attorney General’s consent.

Wilkinson wrote that the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti "informed the court that the initial review of each document will take one hour per page."

"There are nearly 200,000 pages to examine." The judge had already confirmed that "a number of documents" submitted for initial review "contain harmful information."

The documents involved are essential to the legal claims of both shipyards, Lockheed and Seaspan Victoria, and both parties have been authorized to communicate directly with the Attorney General regarding the Section 38 review, according to the court.

Wilkinson also directed the companies to provide quarterly updates on the review process starting at the end of June.