Roundup: Releasing more F-35 deal details

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All of the talk yesterday was about the big F-35 announcement, which wasn’t actually about the decision around the F-35s, but rather some of the details around dates and costs. That didn’t, however, stop every media outlet from running clips of Trudeau in 2015 saying that he wasn’t going to buy F-35s because they weren’t the right plane for Canada and the price was astronomical. Well, some things have changed since then, but primarily it was the fact that the consensus among NATO allies has been to settle on the F-35 (as flawed as it is—no, seriously, last I checked, the ejection seats will literally kill a pilot who is below a certain height/weight), and interoperability is a key function, particularly when most of their use will be over North America. Ironically, now that Sweden is joining NATO, their Gripen fighters will have to become NATO compatible, which was the other choice for Canada in this procurement.

The other thing, which is being downplayed by certain circles, is that there was an actual proper procurement process, which the Harper government didn’t engage in when they sole-sourced the F-35s the first time, on dubious advice. There are going to be questions about the industrial benefits, but as participants in the joint strike fighter development programme, Canadian firms have been part of the supply chain for a while now, so the benefits are not like they used to be in previous procurement processes. But really, this was not the same kind of regional job creation programme that the shipbuilding process was, which is not really working out well for us.

 

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 321:

Russian forces intensified their assault on Soledar, near Bakhmut, primarily with Wagner Group mercenaries. Ukrainian soldiers repelled the attempted advance.

Good reads:

  • Here’s a look at why Trudeau may be fighting for attention at the Three Amigos summit underway in Mexico City.
  • Employees at the Public Health Agency of Canada are being given a special commemorative coin for their efforts in the early days of the pandemic.
  • The Commons’ transport committee met to hammer out their witness list on travel chaos, and yes, the minister is included.
  • An Ontario judge has certified a class action lawsuit against the minister of long-term care over COVID deaths.
  • The Ontario Liberals are in no rush to pick a new leader, preferring to consult on the leadership process first.
  • Alberta will start sending out their vote-buying cheques inflation assistance cheques at the end of the month.
  • Ranj Pillai was acclaimed leader of the Yukon Liberals, and will soon become premier, replacing Sandy Silver.
  • Paul Wells has questions about the government’s digital adoption programme, and why there has been so little apparent uptake of it.

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Releasing more F-35 deal details”

  1. The Gripen fighter was the best choice in my opinion, cost wise at procurement, jobs ongoing and NATO except US compatibility but US appeasement must prevail to protect our electric car manufacturers and dairy farmers just to mention two. The dysfunctional banana republic to our south is a political, cultural and armed to the teeth danger to Canada.

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