Bad Timing, Bad Quality, F-35 Jet Fighters to Be More Pain than Solution

The Harper government announced on Friday that it would invest $9 billion dollars into replacing Canada’s aged military aircrafts. In a time of economic uncertainty and in a time of reducing spending, such a large investment in an area that isn’t as prioritized as getting people back to work and restoring normality in Canada, is such an investment the right one? Currently, there is no concrete proof that claims that our current fighter jets absolutely need to be replaced immediately. Currently, there is no bids for the contract as it has already been made without consultation and without prior research. Currently, Canada is in debt and deficit and must focus on recovery in an ever so fragile state of the world.



The planes that the Harper government plans to buy are the exact same planes that the Americans bought and used in their military. However, these planes aren’t the best planes that we can have and both Republicans and Democrats in the United States are debating on whether the gamble was really worth it. While a long video, this video will thoroughly explain the main problems of this model of plane that will have a larger maintenance burden and lower quality as Americans have experienced.

The Americans have tried these planes and are now unsatisfied with the consequence of their gamble, why should Canada make the same mistake?

If the F-35 jet fighters pose so many problems to the American military and budget, what will happen to ours? There is no definite need for our current planes to be replaced for the moment as there is no solid and public evidence to support it. Our country’s books are unbalanced and in the red, we should focus on the population before we look at our military’s toys. The process of getting these planes is flawed. There should be research into the manner and a competitive bid for the contract, model and price should be executed before even considering taking a one-way street.

The Conservative government has once again displayed incompetence and poor strategic thinking. Before looking at a military, the Canadian framework and economy should be solid. We shouldn’t buy from the United States because they are our best allies, but because their company won the bid. Based on the experiences of the American military and budget, the purchase of these planes was a costly mistake. If Stephen Harper wishes to make the mistakes that other countries have made, then so be it, but be ready to pay for these mistakes, and be ready to deal with an ever-growing frustration in the public’s eye. Now is no time to be looking at such an investment and now is no time to purchase without looking at every single aspect of its economic and quality-wise consequences.

If the Harper Conservatives aren’t ready to do their homework, then maybe they aren’t ready to govern or to position Canada’s economy onto the right track. Let us not forget that it is due to the Liberal government’s sound approach that brought this country great surpluses and stability that the country’s economy didn’t plunge as far as that of the United States. It wasn’t Harper, it was the framework that he is sitting on. The purchase of these planes pose as a great expense in manufacturing and a still unknown cost in maintenance. The Americans can easily say at this point that the purchase of these planes was a mistake. What will it take to convince the Conservative government that their closed room deals will cost us all billions in the future?

Rethinking the Past to Generate a Better Future

Anyone who is thinking of going to Alberta should be aware of the fact that they are aiding a great environmental flop. As Alberta’s Tar Sands serve as the largest supplier of oil to the United States (or will when the Conservatives are done with it), a new string of American attack ads peg Canada as one of the worst countries in the world with regard to oil. Let us not forget that Canada won the colossal fossil award and our current conservative government is reluctant to make the necessary changes to prepare Canada for a 21st century economy. Rethink Alberta is a well-developed site by Corporate Ethics International and is attacking the oil sands from one aspect to another. In a time when technology is evolving at a rate that could very well make fossil fuels redundant, the Conservative government of Canada would rather prevent the greening progress of the United States than aid it. The Copenhagen Summit, and several Environmental conferences are very good examples of how Canada is setting the wrong example for the world and how world leaders are mocking Canadians as we speak.



Here is an excerpt from the British tabloid during the Copenhagen Summit. The exact quote can be found for looking for Canada in the interactive display under The Crucial Data marker.

“A pathetic 3% cut on their 1990 emissions levels by 2020 – an offer mired in thick black tar.”
-The Guardian

Is this the way that the world should view Canada?

This attack could hurt the economy, although, it isn’t like the profits from oil won’t cover the loss of tourism… If the American oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico isn’t a good enough warning of the future of Alberta’s prized landscape if the drilling is continued and extended, then there is no good enough warning. Recessions are a good time to reformat and to rethink a country's economy. Investing in new sectors stimulates new competition and a new drive on the market. The race and demand for greener technology is one that should be the center piece of the new economy, not the backbench road block. It is when a country or person continues its old ways that the results run flat and the disaster repeats itself.

In a modernizing economy, we should look at modernization. If we continue to prop up old and inefficient methods of generating revenue, we will continue to prop up old and unsettling disasters in both the economic and environmental spectrums.

“In Canada, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach wasted no time in travelling to the U.S. to point out that the oil sands development in the northern reaches of his province — which have come under widespread international criticism — should suddenly be looking a little more attractive. At the very same time that the inquiry began in Washington, the drilling of the deepest-ever offshore oil well in Newfoundland began.”
-MSN Money

Our landscapes are worth preserving along with our unique values and culture and tourism industry. Shall the tourism industry falter, any new economic opportunities will be blocked and the Canadian economy will not improve and without improvement, it as well will falter. It isn’t only time to rethink Alberta; maybe it’s also time to rethink Canada and its Conservative government.