fighter jet series by Dan Donovan
Canada’s fighter jet contract still up in the air
T
he Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) fighter jet contract to replace Canada’s aging CF-18s is part of a procurement package that is worth almost $20 billion (with an overall program cost of $74 billion). It is the most significant investment in the RCAF in more than 30 years. The matter has been on the backburner in Parliament for the past year because of Covid-19 but that will change with the selection of a winner and the signing of the contract in coming months. One area of concern is that the new Defence Minister, Anita Anand, appears singularly focused on dealing with misconduct and misogyny in the CAF. After her appointment she said, “my top priority is to make sure that everyone in the Armed Forces feels safe and protected and that they have the support that they need when they need it and the structures in places to ensure that justice is served.” She went on to say she is ‘determined’ to resolve military misconduct crisis as defence minister. While the issue is certainly a serious one, much of the blame for it rests with the Trudeau government. For six years former defence minister Harjit Sajjan proved unwilling to hold senior officers to account when he was told 16 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2021
of allegations of sexual misconduct being levied against them. This, despite having a report from former Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps on the issue on his desk since 2016. Sajjan made no serious attempt to implement her recommendations. When more allegations of misogyny arose earlier this year, the Trudeau government launched yet another independent review into sexual misconduct, this time, led by former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour. That announcement was criticized as a stalling tactic by survivors and former military leaders.
“
The new Defence Minister, Anita Anand, appears singularly focused on dealing with misconduct and misogyny in the CAF.
”
The hypocrisy hit new levels when Prime Minister Trudeau criticized the CAF after naming Anand the new Defence Minister saying, “It is obvious that despite the work the military has done, despite the work that we have done, the military still doesn’t get those survivors
need to be at the centre, and the unique priority of everything in regard to sexual misconduct and harassment in the military,” Trudeau said. He added “This shows they simply still don’t get it.” This was rather jarring coming from Trudeau who so callously dismissed a survivor in 2018 who he had allegedly groped at an event he attended in 2000. In response to that allegation Trudeau said, “I have been reflecting very carefully on what I remember,” he said. “I feel I am confident I did not act inappropriately. “The same interactions can be experienced very differently from one person to the next,” he said Minister Anand has the Deschamps report with very specific recommendations on how to deal with misogyny in the CAF. She would do well to implement it and turn her attention to the problem of procurement. The Royal Canadian Navy shipbuilding contract with Irving Co. is now well over a decade old and has yet to deliver new destroyers, while the price has almost tripled. The fighter jet contract is a boondoggle in its second decade of delay that dates back to July 2010, when the Harper Conservatives announced that Canada would buy 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 PHOTO: ISTOCK
