Jet Fighters: New Democrats

Question Necessity and Process

by Erik Andersen

Hello Mr. Layton and other NDP Parliamentarians; your question about the recently announced purchase decision for a new fighter to replace the F-18 is most correct. Several matters about this decision readily come to mind.

 

 

As a former fighter pilot I can appreciate the logic of looking for an aircraft to replace a 40 year old design (I watched it being demonstrated in Paris in the mid 70s). There is, however, some history when dealing with the Americans folks should bring into their thinking. The F-104 was sold to us in our hour of need after the perfectly good Arrow was scrapped.

 

This aircraft by Lockheed was difficult to keep airworthy. It was such a major challenge that when deployed to Europe in 62/63 the aircrew were restricted to about 12-15 hours of practice flying per month; an inadequate amount for a good readiness condition. The Americans stuck the Germans, Canadians and their air reservists with the F-104 but USAF did not bring it into its front line squadrons because of its irrelevance to their tasks.

I just read the statement titled "What we do" by the Canadian Air Force. In this statement there is not one mention of a task that needs an aircraft such as the F-35. The closest they come is in the item titled "World" but even there the focus is on peace support and humanitarian aid delivery. As far as defending Canadian sovereignty, the F-35 is seriously inadequate by
virtue of its short operating range.

Also, in the past it was one of my assignments to make new commercial jet aircraft comparisons before recommending an aircraft type to the board of directors. Not a having conducted a very complete examination of all the options to support a recommendation would have been thought of as very unprofessional. From what I read this type of examination was not carried
out or remains undisclosed. Also, there seems to be an absences of a statement of role that would warrant such a decision.

I know it is off-topic but the recent shift of bank mortgages from the Canadian banks to the CMHC is what is known on the "street" as "quantitative easing". Most respectable economists consider this to be an undemocratic creation of a deficit as it was done away from parliament.

Regards from Erik


Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)  
Leader, Canada`s New Democrats

Subject: Jet fighters: New Democrats question necessity and process


Thank you for writing to share your concerns over the Conservative government's plan to spend $16 billion on new fighter jets.  New Democrats agree that it is not clear why our country needs these new fighter jets, and what long-term strategy is in place to justify such a purchase.

The announcement of the $16 billion for 65 new fighter jets seems completely out of step with the established commitment to pull Canadian military forces out of Afghanistan in 2011. While New Democrats realize that we should remain prepared for potential military operations in the future, our strongest commitments remain in ensuring Canadians have access to good jobs, fair pay, affordable housing, and quality health care. $16 billion could mean extending EI benefits to Canadians who are still hurting from the recession, or perhaps paying down some of the record deficit the Harper Conservatives has imposed on this country.

Like you, many other Canadians are asking themselves what else could have been bought with this amount of money along with the unbelievable security bill of over $1 billion for the G8/G20 summits. While the Harper government consistently presents itself as a good fiscal manger, the facts show otherwise. Recently, we challenged Conservative MP Tom Lukiwski on this type of overstatement.

Please see more at the following link: http://www.ndp.ca/press/reality-check-mr-lukiwski-meet-irony

With no announced military operation on the horizon, this spending could not come at a worse time. The Conservatives seem to believe that downloading the costs for this type of purchase to future generations of Canadians is a responsible way to run the government.

New Democrats know better. We will continue to affirm that the primary purpose of the Canadian Forces is peace-keeping, defense and support during emergencies. While ensuring our forces are adequately equipped for these types of missions is necessary, this latest purchase announcement is yet another example of poor spending decisions made by the Conservative government.

You can read more about our position at this link: http://www.ndp.ca/press/jet-fighters-new-democrats-question-necessity-process

Again, I would like to thank you for sharing your concerns on this unnecessary and ill-timed expenditure. All the best.

Sincerely,
Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)
Leader, Canada`s New Democrats